Chords in the Key of D Minor
The key of D minor contains seven chords: Dm, Edim, F, Gm, Am, Bb and C. It has one flat, Bb, its relative major is F major, and it is one of the most common keys in folk and singer songwriter music.
The seven chords on guitar
Each chord below opens its own page, with more shapes up the neck, audio for every voicing and a printable chart. Tap the play button on any card to hear it.
The seven chords on piano
The same seven chords on a keyboard, in root position. Each one opens its own page, with every inversion and the finger numbers for both hands.
iDmD F A 
the home chord
ii°EdimE G B♭ 
the tense one, used sparingly
IIIFF A C 
the relative major, the bright lift
ivGmG B♭ D 
the darker step away from home
vAmA C E 
the pull home, usually played major
VIBbB♭ D F 
the warm place to rest
VIICC E G 
a step below home, the rock cadence
The seventh chords in D minor
Add one more note to each chord and the key gains its seventh chords, which is where most jazz and a good deal of soul begins.
Common progressions in D minor
- i - VI - III - VII
Dm Bb F C
The most common minor loop in popular music, and the same four chords as an F major song heard from a different starting point. The Bb barre is the only hard part on guitar, and a capo at the fifth fret turns the whole loop into Am, F, C and G shapes.
- i - VII - VI
Dm C Bb
Three chords walking down in steps, which is the sound of most minor key rock. Dm and C ring open, so the only shape you have to fret fully is the Bb at the end.
- i - iv - v
Dm Gm Am
The saddest of the four, because all three chords are minor and nothing pulls hard toward home. Play the last chord as A or A7 instead of Am and the ending suddenly sounds closed, which is the harmonic minor change doing its work.
- i - iv - VII - III
Dm Gm C F
A circling progression that keeps drifting toward the relative major. Let it run a few times and F starts to feel like the resting chord, which shows how close D minor and F major really sit.
Why these seven chords
On a stave, D minor is written with one flat, Bb, which is how a reader knows the key before playing a note.
The seven chords are built on the notes of the D natural minor scale, D E F G A Bb C, one chord stacked on each note using only notes from that scale. The qualities fall in the same order as in every minor key: minor, diminished, major, minor, minor, major, major. As numerals that is i, ii dim, III, iv, v, VI and VII, so Dm is home, Edim is the one almost nobody plays, and F, Bb and C are the three major chords the key leans on.
Two chords are worth pointing at. The VII, C, is a major chord a whole step below the home chord, and dropping from Dm to C is the sound of a great deal of rock and folk writing. The v, Am, is minor in the natural minor scale, but songs raise its third and play it major instead, as A or more often A7. That raised note, C sharp, is the leading note borrowed from the harmonic minor scale, and it is what makes the return to Dm feel finished. A7 is the one chord you will keep meeting in D minor that is not in the list of seven, so do not be thrown when a chart shows it.
On guitar
D minor sits well on a guitar, and along with A minor and E minor it is one of the three minor keys that are genuinely playable in open position. Dm, Am and C are open shapes, F is the familiar small barre or its three string version, and the two chords that ask for real work are Gm and Bb. Gm is an Em shape barred at the third fret, Bb is an A shape barred at the first fret, and Edim almost never turns up in songs, so most players in this key never learn a shape for it.
If those two barres are still out of reach, capo the fifth fret and play the whole key in A minor shapes. Dm becomes the Am shape, Gm becomes Dm, Bb becomes F, F becomes C, C becomes G, and Am becomes Em. That puts every chord except one into open shapes and keeps the ringing open strings that make this key sound full. The printable chart and the left handed toggle work the same way in either position.
On piano
D minor uses one black key, Bb. The scale is D E F G A Bb C, so the hand sits mostly on white keys and reaches for one flat in the same place every time. Only three of the seven chords touch it: Gm, Bb and Edim.
Dm, F, Am and C are all white key triads and fall straight under the fingers, which is why D minor is often the first minor key a piano student meets after A minor. The awkward moments are Bb, where the thumb usually moves off the black key and takes D instead, and the A or A7 a song plays in place of Am, which brings in C sharp, a black key the key signature never asks for. Every triad and seventh on the site shows all of its inversions with fingering for both hands, which is the fastest way to find a path from Dm to Bb to F that does not jump the hand across the keyboard.
Questions about the key of D Minor
What are the 7 chords in the key of D minor?
Dm, Edim, F, Gm, Am, Bb and C. Dm, Gm and Am are minor, F, Bb and C are major, and Edim is diminished.
What is the relative major of D minor?
F major. It has the same key signature, one flat, and exactly the same seven chords. The only difference is which chord feels like home: F in F major, Dm in D minor.
Why do songs in D minor use an A or A7 chord?
The fifth chord of the natural minor scale is Am, but raising its third to C sharp turns it into A or A7 and creates a strong pull back to Dm. That raised note comes from the harmonic minor scale, and A7 is the one common chord in D minor that is not one of the seven.
How many flats does D minor have?
One, Bb. The scale is D E F G A Bb C, the same notes as F major. Any C sharp you hear in a D minor song comes from the A or A7 chord, not from the key signature.
Is D minor easy on guitar?
Mostly. Dm, Am and C are open shapes and F is a small barre, but Gm and Bb are full barre chords. Capo the fifth fret and play A minor shapes if you want the whole key in open position.
What do the numbers next to each chord mean?
They are each chord's place in the key, written as Roman numerals. In D minor the i is Dm, the iv is Gm and the v is Am. The numbering holds in every key, so the v of A minor is Em. That is why progressions get written as numerals like i, VI, III, VII: learn one and you have it in all twelve minor keys.
Why are some numerals capitals and some lowercase?
The case tells you the chord quality. Lowercase are minor, which in D minor means Dm, Gm and Am. Capitals are major: F, Bb and C. The small circle on ii° means diminished, and here that is Edim.
What is the relative major of D minor?
F major. It is written with one flat, Bb, the same signature as D minor, and it contains the same seven chords. Only the chord that sounds like home changes, from Dm to F.
The relative major
F major is written with the same one flat, Bb and contains the same seven chords as D minor. What changes is which one sounds like home, so the same shapes can be played brighter without learning anything new. Chords in the key of F