D minor: scale and chords

The D minor scale: natural, harmonic and melodic

D E F G A B♭ C

Key signature: one flat, B♭, on the middle line of the treble staff and the second line of the bass staff: the same as F major. Whole and half steps: whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole; the half steps are E–F and A–B♭.

Natural minor: D E F G A B♭ C. Harmonic minor: D E F G A B♭ C♯, the C♯ written in as an accidental each time, a half step under the keynote; B♭ to C♯ is a step and a half. Melodic minor: D E F G A B C♯ going up, D C B♭ A G F E D coming down.

Play harmonic minor Play melodic minor

Piano fingering for all three forms: right hand 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5, the thumb on D and G; left hand 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1, the 3rd finger crossing over to B♭ (or B).

Guitar, open position: D string open, 2 and 3 (D, E, F), G string open, 2 and 3 (G, A, B♭), B string 1 and 3 (C, D). At the 5th fret: A string 5 7 8 (D E F), D string 5 7 8 (G A B♭), G string 5 7 (C D). For harmonic minor, play C♯: B string fret 2, or G string fret 6.

Harmonic minor's A7 (A C♯ E G) is the chord that pulls back to Dm.

In Hz, from the keynote in octave 4: D4 293.7 · E4 329.6 · F4 349.2 · G4 392.0 · A4 440.0 · B♭4 466.2 · C5 523.3

Play the scale

D minor pentatonic scale · D blues scale · D minor scale on piano · D minor scale on guitar · D harmonic minor scale

The D minor chord (Dm) on guitar and piano

D F A

Dm is D, F and A: root, minor third, perfect fifth. The small m is what makes it minor; D♯ is a different note, a semitone above D, and D♯ minor a different key. Dm, Dmin and D− are the same chord.

Guitar: x x 0 2 3 1 (low E to high E, x = not played): index finger on the high E at the 1st fret, middle on the G string at the 2nd, ring on the B string at the 3rd; strum from the open D and leave the low E and A out.

Dm7, x x 0 2 1 1, adds C. Barres: x 5 7 7 6 5, the Am shape at the 5th fret, and 10 12 12 10 10 10, the Em shape at the 10th.

Piano: D, F and A, three white keys. Right hand 1 3 5, left hand 5 3 1. Inversions: F A D (Dm/F) and A D F (Dm/A).

Play Dm

Chords in D minor

Tap a chord to hear it.

Dm (tonic), Gm (subdominant) and the dominant, Am or more often A or A7, carry the key; Dm Gm A7 Dm is its cadence. B♭ and C, the VI and VII, climb back into Dm, the VI–VII–i rise of many film scores.

The loop plays i–VI–III–VII: Dm B♭ F C.

Keys that mix with D minor

On the Camelot wheel D minor is 7A (Open Key 12m). Tracks in these keys mix without a clash:

• 7B F major relative major, the same seven notes
• 6A G minor one step down
• 8A A minor one step up
• 9A E minor two steps up, the energy boost

D minor and F major share the one flat and all seven notes; D minor is the one that comes home to Dm. Same keynote, the other mode: D major (10B), two sharps, three notes apart (F♯, B, C♯). D♯ minor, six sharps, is written here as its twin E♭ minor; D♭ minor (D♭ E♭ F♭ G♭ A♭ B𝄫 C♭) would need eight flats, one of them double, so it is written as C♯ minor, four sharps. The D♭ minor chord is D♭ F♭ A♭, the same keys as C♯m (C♯ E G♯). Its relative major would be F♭ major, written as E major.

Where D minor sits

Choir parts (soprano C4–G5, alto G3–D5, tenor C3–G4, bass F2–D4, where two part-writing guides agree): D4–D5 fits the soprano and alto parts; D3–D4 fits the tenor and bass parts. Find your own range.

As a sub or an 808, the keynote is D1 at 36.7 Hz, or D2 at 73.4 Hz an octave up. Tune an 808 to D.

What plays

Drums, an organ bass and a pluck, the Brumm app's own sounds, four bars at 123 BPM, one chord per bar. The arrows move bass and chords a semitone; the drums stay.

Chord progressions in D minor

Pieces in D minor

• Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565. Whether Bach wrote it has been argued since Peter Williams' 1981 article in Early Music; the catalogue still lists it as his. The Chaconne from the Partita No. 2 for solo violin, BWV 1004, is in D minor too, and in November 2025 the Bach-Archiv Leipzig added an organ Chaconne in D minor, BWV 1178, to the catalogue.
• Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, Op. 125, whose finale turns to D major for the "Ode to Joy"; the "Tempest" Sonata, Op. 31 No. 2
• Mozart: the Requiem, K. 626, and Piano Concerto No. 20, K. 466
• Schubert: String Quartet "Death and the Maiden", D 810. Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3. Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1

Pachelbel's Canon is in D major. The "Canon in D minor" people search for is an arrangement of it in the minor.

Is D minor the saddest key?

Nigel Tufnel says so in This Is Spinal Tap (1984), and the line stuck. In equal temperament D minor has the same intervals as every other minor key. What it does have: an open D string on guitar, viola and cello, and on guitar 5 of the 6 open strings in the key, so it rings.

Questions about D minor

How many flats are in D minor?

One, B♭. Harmonic and melodic minor add a C♯ (and a B natural) as accidentals; the key signature stays one flat.

How is B minor different from D major?

It is D major's relative minor: the same two sharps and seven notes, with B as home. The same relation holds here between D minor and F major. What differs is home: B minor rests on Bm and usually reaches it through F♯ or F♯7, with A♯ from harmonic minor; D major rests on D through A or A7. B minor has its own page.

Then hum over it

The hum button opens Brumm with a short line in the key over a beat. Hum yours and it becomes an instrument. No account, no upload.

Sources

Scales and chords: Open Music Theory, musictheory.net. Camelot, Open Key: Mixed In Key, Mixgraph. Open strings: Wikipedia. Choir parts: Open Music Theory, Geneseo. Guitar shapes: Wikipedia, Barre chord. Hz: A4 = 440 Hz, ISO 16.

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