Minor 7th chord · D root
Dm7 chord
- D1
- F♭3
- A5
- C♭7
The D minor 7th chord is built from the notes D, F, A, C. It turns up 29 times in the 80 songs on this site, including All of Me and Black Orpheus.
By Chiye · Updated
What is the Dm7 chord?
The Dm7 chord (D minor 7th) is a minor 7th chord built from four notes: D, F, A, C — the 1–♭3–5–♭7 of the D scale, 3 semitones and 7 semitones and 10 semitones above the root. On guitar it is most often played in open position (x-x-0-2-1-1) with 3 fingers while 1 string rings open and the low E string stays silent. It is rated intermediate. The smooth workhorse of funk, R&B and lo-fi. It is one of the most-used chords in this site's library: across the 80 song sheets charted here, Dm7 appears 29 times in 6 songs, most often in the keys of C and Dm, and the chord it most often moves to is G7. Below you will find step-by-step fingering, 3 positions up the neck, audio of every shape, and the real progressions this chord lives inside.
How do you play the Dm7 chord on guitar?
Open position — a movable shape, so this same fingering works for every root note.
- Lay your index finger flat across the B to high E strings at fret 1, rolled slightly onto its bony edge.
- Press the G string at fret 2 with your middle finger.
- Start your strum on the D string and leave the low E and A strings out.
Drop the lowest fretted note (G string) and play the rest as a four- or five-string shape. You lose the bass note but keep every note that gives the chord its name, and there is no barre left to fight. x-x-0-x-1-1
How do you make Dm7 sound clean?
The open Dm7 barre on the top two strings is usually played with too much pressure and not enough arch.
Dm → Dm7 → G7 → C: the ii–V–I that ends a thousand jazz tunes.
In real songs
What songs use the Dm7 chord?
- chord changes
- 29
- songs
- 6
- common keys
- C · Dm
Across the 80 chord sheets on this site, Dm7 appears 29 times in 6 songs — most often in the keys of C and Dm.
All 6 songs that use Dm7— key, capo and a link to every sheet
| Song | Artist | Key | Capo |
|---|---|---|---|
| All of Me | Jazz Standard | C | — |
| Black Orpheus | Luiz Bonfa | Dm | — |
| Blue Bossa | Kenny Dorham | Dm | — |
| Bye Bye Blackbird | Jazz Standard | F | — |
| Fly Me to the Moon | Bart Howard | C | — |
| Georgia on My Mind | Ray Charles | C | — |
Chord flow
What chord comes after Dm7?
Every number here is a count from the progressions in our song sheets, not a generalisation: 1560 chord changes are behind these figures.
Three-chord moves
Three-chord moves are where a chord really shows its character. These are the ones that actually happen in this library, counted from the sheets:
What other ways can you play Dm7 up the neck?
2 more positions below. These are the same notes in a different part of the neck. Choosing the position closest to the chord you just played is what stops your hand jumping between changes.
Position 2 · Fret 5 barre
Every note here is fretted, which means the shape transposes anywhere on the neck without changing your fingers.
The barre is the only hard part of this shape. Keep the bar finger straight and use the weight of your arm rather than the grip of your thumb.
Position 3 · Fret 10 barre
No open strings, so this is a movable shape: slide it up or down and the same fingering gives you a different chord name.
One bar does most of the work. Roll that finger onto its bony edge and pull the elbow slightly in — a barre that buzzes is almost always a position problem, not a strength problem.
The theory behind Dm7
Dm7 is spelled D – F – A – C — the 1 – ♭3 – 5 – ♭7 of the D scale, which is the root plus 3 semitones, 7 semitones, 10 semitones. The smooth workhorse of funk, R&B and lo-fi.
The flat seventh softens the minor third, which is why m7 chords sit comfortably under a vocal. In practice you will use Dm7 far more often than the plain minor triad in anything funky or jazzy.
Dm7 on other instruments
D – F – A – C — all white keys, so you can find the shape by counting up from C.
Take it to the practice room
