Chords in the Key of D Minor
Every diatonic triad and seventh chord in D minor, with the progressions built from them. Free. No sign-up.
Key facts
Diatonic triads
Seventh chords
Stack one more scale tone on each triad and you get the seventh chords — same key, more color.
Common progressions in D minor
i–VI–III–VII
Dm – Bb – F – C
The minor pop loop — same four chords as the major axis, started from the minor side.
i–iv–v
Dm – Gm – Am
The minor blues shape — all three chords stay minor in the natural scale.
i–VII–VI
Dm – C – Bb
The descending rock lament, one whole step at a time.
i–iv–VII–III
Dm – Gm – C – F
A circle-of-fifths descent — each root falls a fifth to the next.
How the key of D minor works
D Minor carries one flat (Bb). The scale runs D–E–F–G–A–Bb–C, and stacking every other note of that scale builds the seven chords above — every chord tone comes from those same seven notes.
F Major is the relative major: identical key signature, identical seven chords. Treat F — the III chord here — as home base and you are in F major without changing a note.
The parallel major, D Major, keeps the same root but raises the third, sixth, and seventh — its signature shifts to two sharps (F# and C#). Moving a section from minor to parallel major is one of the oldest brightness tricks in songwriting.
Playing D minor on guitar
In D minor, Dm, Am and C are open chords you can play in first position. F, Gm and Bb need a barre shape or a capo. The diminished Edim is usually played as a small three-string shape rather than a full chord.
A capo is the shortcut. With one, the i–VI–III–VII progression (Dm – Bb – F – C) sounds in D minor while you finger open shapes:
Capo 10 · play it as E minor
Em – C – G – D
4 of 4 shapes are open chords.
Capo 3 · play it as B minor
Bm – G – D – A
3 of 4 shapes are open chords.
Capo 5 · play it as A minor
Am – F – C – G
3 of 4 shapes are open chords.
Where D minor sits on the neck
The root, D, is fret 10 on the low E string and fret 5 on the A string, the two places most minor barre shapes and scale positions in D minor are built from.
Five open strings are in the key: low E, A, D, G and high E. Watch the open B (fret 1 gives C).
The open A (the fifth) and D (the root) strings make a drone you can let ring under riffs and melodies in this key.
One note separates D minor from each neighbour on the circle of fifths. Raise Bb to B and you are in A minor; lower E to Eb and you are in G minor. Those are the two keys a song in D minor most often modulates to.
Keep practicing
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