The 7 chords
Dm · Edim · F · Gm · Am · B♭ · C
Every natural minor key follows the same pattern: minor, diminished, major, minor, minor, major, major.
Chord chart
D Minor chord chart
| Degree | Numeral | Chord | Notes | 7th chord | Function |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | i | Dm | D – F – A | Dm7 | Tonic |
| 2 | ii° | Edim | E – G – B♭ | Em7b5 | Supertonic |
| 3 | III | F | F – A – C | Fmaj7 | Mediant |
| 4 | iv | Gm | G – B♭ – D | Gm7 | Subdominant |
| 5 | v | Am | A – C – E | Am7 | Dominant |
| 6 | VI | B♭ | B♭ – D – F | B♭maj7 | Submediant |
| 7 | VII | C | C – E – G | C7 | Subtonic |
D minor scale: D – E – F – G – A – B♭ – C. Key signature: 1 flat (B♭).
Progressions
Common chord progressions in D Minor
Minor pop loop
i – VI – III – VII
- iDm
- VIB♭
- IIIF
- VIIC
The four chords of the pop progression, started on the minor chord — i, VI, III, VII in a minor key is I, V, vi, IV in its relative major.
Minor three-chord progression
i – iv – v – i
- iDm
- ivGm
- vAm
- iDm
The primary chords of the minor key, i, iv and v. Swap the minor v for the major V below for a stronger pull home.
Andalusian cadence
i – VII – VI – V
- iDm
- VIIC
- VIB♭
- VA
A stepwise walk down to the major V — the sound of flamenco, and of a long list of rock songs.
Descending fifths
i – iv – VII – III
- iDm
- ivGm
- VIIC
- IIIF
Each root is a 5th below the one before — the circle of fifths moving through the minor key.
Rising VI – VII
i – VI – VII – i
- iDm
- VIB♭
- VIIC
- iDm
Climbs from the VI through the VII back home to i — a staple of rock choruses and film scores.
Minor ii – V – i
iiø7 – V7 – i7
- iiø7Em7b5
- V7A7
- i7Dm7
The minor-key jazz cadence. The V7 comes from the harmonic minor scale, which is what makes it resolve so strongly.
Want more? Generate a progression in D Minor by style, or build your own in the Chord Progression Player.
7th chords
7th chords in the key of D Minor
Add the next note of the scale on top of each chord and you get its diatonic 7th chord — the sound of jazz, soul and R&B in D minor.
The major V
Why songs in D minor use A, not Am
The natural minor scale makes the v chord minor (Am), and it only weakly leads home. Raise the scale's 7th note to C# — the D harmonic minor scale — and the chord becomes A major, or A7. That C# sits a half step below D and pulls straight to it, which is why most minor-key songs end on A → Dm or A7 → Dm.
On guitar
Playing in D Minor on guitar
3 of the 7 chords are open chords (Dm, Am, C); Edim, F, Gm, B♭ need a barre or a moveable shape. A capo lets you swap those for open shapes:
Capo 5 + A minor shapes
Finger Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F, G — they sound as Dm, Edim, F, Gm, Am, B♭, C. 5 of the 7 shapes are open chords.
See the A minor chordsCapo 3 + B minor shapes
Finger Bm, C#dim, D, Em, F#m, G, A — they sound as Dm, Edim, F, Gm, Am, B♭, C. 4 of the 7 shapes are open chords.
See the B minor chords
Scales for soloing in D Minor
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
The key of D minor has seven chords: Dm, Edim, F, Gm, Am, B♭ and C. Each is built from the notes of the D natural minor scale (D E F G A B♭ C), so all seven share one key signature: 1 flat (B♭).
Dm, Gm and Am — the i, iv and v chords. Those three contain every note of the D minor scale between them, which is why so many songs in D minor use little else.
F major. It uses the same seven chords and the same key signature as D minor; the difference is which chord feels like home. A song that keeps returning to F is in F major; one that settles on Dm is in D minor.
1 flat (B♭). D minor shares its key signature with its relative major, F major.
The natural D minor scale gives a minor v chord, Am, which only weakly leads home. Raising the scale's 7th note to C# (the harmonic minor scale) turns it into A major, or A7, whose C# sits a half step below D and pulls straight to it. Most minor-key songs use the major V at cadences.
Dm7, Em7b5, Fmaj7, Gm7, Am7, B♭maj7 and C7. Each adds the next note of the scale on top of the triad, which gives three minor 7ths, two major 7ths, one dominant 7th and one half-diminished (m7♭5).
Stacking the scale notes on E gives E, G, B♭: a minor 3rd and then another minor 3rd, so the 5th is flattened. It is the least-used chord in the key — songs often skip it, or use Gm where it would go.
Use a capo. Only 3 of the 7 chords in D minor are open chords, but with a capo on fret 5 you can play A minor shapes (Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F and G) and they sound in D minor. 5 of those shapes are open chords.
Related Tools
Circle of FifthsSee every key, its relative minor and its neighbours on one wheelKey FinderPaste a progression and detect its key with Roman numeral analysisChord Progression GeneratorPick a key and style to generate a diatonic progressionCapo CalculatorFind the capo position to play any key with open shapes