# D Minor 6th piano chord (Dm6)

Dm6 contains D, F, A and B. A minor triad with the sixth added on top. Every note is a white key.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/minor-6th/d/
- Entity: chord:minor-6th:d
- Notes: D F A B
- Formula: 1 ♭3 5 6
- Intervals from root: P1, m3, P5, M6
- Interval stack (semitones): 3 4 2
- Also written: Dm6, Dm6, D minor 6th
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | D | Perfect unison | 0 |
| ♭3 | F | Minor third | 3 |
| 5 | A | Perfect fifth | 7 |
| 6 | B | Major sixth | 9 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on D, finger 2 on F, finger 3 on A, finger 5 on B. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 1-2-3-5, left hand 5-3-2-1. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | D | D3 F3 A3 B3 | 7 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| First inversion (Dm6/F) | F | F3 A3 B3 D4 | 6/5 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Second inversion (Dm6/A) | A | A3 B3 D4 F4 | 4/3 | 8 st, 110 mm |
| Third inversion (Dm6/B) | B | B3 D4 F4 A4 | 4/2 | 10 st, 138 mm |

## Voicings (10)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | D3 F3 A3 B3 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | F3 A3 B3 D4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | A3 B3 D4 F4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Close, third inversion | B3 D4 F4 A4 | 10 st, 138 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 | A2 D3 F3 B3 | 14 st, 193 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 3 | F2 D3 A3 B3 | 18 st, 248 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 and 4 | D2 A2 F3 B3 | 21 st, 289 mm | identical | none |
| Shell, root 6 ♭3 | D2 B2 F3 | 15 st, 206 mm | subset | omits A |
| Guide tones, ♭3 and 6 | F3 B3 | 6 st, 83 mm | subset | omits D and A |
| Rootless close | F3 A3 B3 | 6 st, 83 mm | subset | omits D |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dm | 1 ♭3 5 | drops B | 3 |
| Dm7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | B becomes C | 3 |
| DmMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | B becomes C♯ | 3 |
| Ddim7 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭♭7 | A becomes A♭ | 3 |
| D6 | 1 3 5 6 | F becomes F♯ | 3 |
| Dm9 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 9 | B becomes C, E | 3 |
| D | 1 3 5 | F, B becomes F♯ | 2 |
| Ddim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | A, B becomes A♭ | 2 |
| Dsus2 | 1 2 5 | F, B becomes E | 2 |
| Dsus4 | 1 4 5 | F, B becomes G | 2 |
| Dmaj7 | 1 3 5 7 | F, B becomes F♯, C♯ | 2 |
| D7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | F, B becomes F♯, C | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {2, 5, 9, 11}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 3, 7, 9]
- Normal order: [9, 11, 2, 5]
- Prime form: (0258)
- Forte number: 4-27
- Interval vector: <012111>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| D3 | 50 | 146.83 Hz |
| F3 | 53 | 174.61 Hz |
| A3 | 57 | 220.00 Hz |
| B3 | 59 | 246.94 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in Dm6?

Dm6 contains D, F, A and B. The formula is 1, ♭3, 5, 6.

### How do you play Dm6 on piano?

Play D, F, A and B together. Right hand fingers 1, 2, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 2, 1. Every note is a white key.

### What are the inversions of Dm6?

4 positions: root position D F A B, Dm6/F, Dm6/A, Dm6/B.

### What is the difference between Dm6 and Dm?

Drops B. 3 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy Dm6 for small hands?

The guide tones, ♭3 and 6 voicing, F3 B3, spans 6 semitones or about 83 mm.

### What are the frequencies of Dm6?

From D3 at A440 in 12-TET: 146.83, 174.61, 220.00, 246.94 Hz.

### What is the set class of Dm6?

Prime form (0258), Forte 4-27, interval vector &lt;012111&gt;.

### How do I transpose Dm6 to another key?

Keep the 1, ♭3, 5, 6 formula on the new root. Cm6 is C, E♭, G, A; C♯m6 is C♯, E, G♯, A♯.

## Provenance

Every derived value above is computed by the piano.org theory kernel from the root, the quality and the stated parameters. Nothing is hand-entered per chord.

Machine record: https://piano.org/api/knowledge/v1/entities/chord:minor-6th:d
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12