Piano chord · Minor triad · Beginner
D minor piano chord (Dm)
D, F and A, played together. Root position is highlighted on the keyboard below — press play to hear it.
Notes in Dm: D, F and A
| Note | Interval from the root | Key around middle C |
|---|---|---|
| D | Root | D4 · white key |
| F | Minor 3rd | F4 · white key |
| A | Perfect 5th | A4 · white key |
- Chord symbol: Dm — D minor
- Formula: R · b3 · 5 (0 · 3 · 7 semitones from the root)
- Right hand fingering: 1-3-5 — thumb, middle finger and little finger
- Left hand fingering: 5-3-1, little finger on the root
How Dm works
D minor is the first all-white minor chord most players learn and the ii chord of C major — the natural step before G7. Keep the same relaxed 1-3-5 frame as C major and move the hand up two white keys.
Dm inversions
An inversion keeps the same notes and changes which one is at the bottom. That matters because it lets you move between chords without jumping: the closer the notes of the next chord are to the ones your hand is already holding, the smoother it sounds and the easier it is to play. Root position first, then two inversions.
Root position
D–F–A — the root, D, is at the bottom.
1st inversion — F in the bass
F–A–D — the same three notes, reordered so F is lowest.
2nd inversion — A in the bass
A–D–F — the same three notes, reordered so A is lowest.
Common mistakes on Dm
- Playing F♯ out of habit from D major, which makes the chord major again.
- Squeezing finger 5 onto A so the top note sticks out above the rest.
- Mistaking it for F major; both use F and A, but D minor is rooted on D and sounds quite different.
Piano chord data last updated . Every diagram here, in the printable PDF and in the chart image comes from one dataset, so the paper and the screen cannot disagree.