# D Minor 7th piano chord (Dm7)

Dm7 contains D, F, A and C. A minor triad with the minor seventh added on top. Every note is a white key.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/minor-7th/d/
- Entity: chord:minor-7th:d
- Notes: D F A C
- Formula: 1 ♭3 5 ♭7
- Intervals from root: P1, m3, P5, m7
- Interval stack (semitones): 3 4 3
- Also written: Dm7, Dm7, D minor 7th
- 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 |
| ♭7 | C | Minor seventh | 10 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on D, finger 2 on F, finger 3 on A, finger 5 on C. 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 C4 | 7 | 10 st, 138 mm |
| First inversion (Dm7/F) | F | F3 A3 C4 D4 | 6/5 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Second inversion (Dm7/A) | A | A3 C4 D4 F4 | 4/3 | 8 st, 110 mm |
| Third inversion (Dm7/C) | C | C4 D4 F4 A4 | 4/2 | 9 st, 124 mm |

## Voicings (10)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | D3 F3 A3 C4 | 10 st, 138 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | F3 A3 C4 D4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | A3 C4 D4 F4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Close, third inversion | C4 D4 F4 A4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 | A2 D3 F3 C4 | 15 st, 206 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 3 | F2 D3 A3 C4 | 19 st, 261 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 and 4 | D2 A2 F3 C4 | 22 st, 303 mm | identical | none |
| Shell, root ♭7 ♭3 | D2 C3 F3 | 15 st, 206 mm | subset | omits A |
| Guide tones, ♭3 and ♭7 | F3 C4 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits D and A |
| Rootless close | F3 A3 C4 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits D |

## Diatonic function by key

| Key | Roman numeral | Function |
| --- | --- | --- |
| C major | iim7 | Predominant |
| D minor | im7 | Tonic, home |
| F major | vim7 | Tonic substitute |
| G minor | vm7 | Minor dominant |
| A minor | ivm7 | Subdominant |
| B♭ major | iiim7 | Tonic substitute |

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (8)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ii, V, I | C major | iim7 | Dm7 to G7 to Cmaj7 | Dm7 opens the phrase |
| ii, v, i | D minor | im7 | Em7♭5 to Am7 to Dm7 | 2 tones held from Am7 |
| iv, i | D minor | im7 | Gm7 to Dm7 | 2 tones held from Gm7 |
| i, ♭VI, ii, v | D minor | im7 | Dm7 to B♭maj7 to Em7♭5 to Am7 | Dm7 opens the phrase |
| vi, IV, I, V | F major | vim7 | Dm7 to B♭maj7 to Fmaj7 to C7 | Dm7 opens the phrase |
| I, vi | F major | vim7 | Fmaj7 to Dm7 | 3 tones held from Fmaj7 |
| v, i | G minor | vm7 | Dm7 to Gm7 | Dm7 opens the phrase |
| ii, v, i | G minor | vm7 | Am7♭5 to Dm7 to Gm7 | 2 tones held from Am7♭5 |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dm9 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 9 | adds E | 4 |
| Dm | 1 ♭3 5 | drops C | 3 |
| D7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | F becomes F♯ | 3 |
| DmMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | C becomes C♯ | 3 |
| Dm7♭5 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7 | A becomes A♭ | 3 |
| D7sus4 | 1 4 5 ♭7 | F becomes G | 3 |
| Dm6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | C becomes B | 3 |
| D9 | 1 3 5 ♭7 9 | F becomes F♯, E | 3 |
| D | 1 3 5 | F, C becomes F♯ | 2 |
| Ddim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | A, C becomes A♭ | 2 |
| Dsus2 | 1 2 5 | F, C becomes E | 2 |
| Dsus4 | 1 4 5 | F, C becomes G | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {2, 5, 9, 0}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 3, 7, 10]
- Normal order: [9, 0, 2, 5]
- Prime form: (0358)
- Forte number: 4-26
- Interval vector: <012120>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| D3 | 50 | 146.83 Hz |
| F3 | 53 | 174.61 Hz |
| A3 | 57 | 220.00 Hz |
| C4 | 60 | 261.63 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in Dm7?

Dm7 contains D, F, A and C. The formula is 1, ♭3, 5, ♭7.

### How do you play Dm7 on piano?

Play D, F, A and C 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 Dm7?

4 positions: root position D F A C, Dm7/F, Dm7/A, Dm7/C.

### What keys contain Dm7?

6: iim7 in C major, im7 in D minor, vim7 in F major, vm7 in G minor, ivm7 in A minor, iiim7 in B♭ major.

### What is the difference between Dm7 and Dm9?

Adds E. 4 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy Dm7 for small hands?

The guide tones, ♭3 and ♭7 voicing, F3 C4, spans 7 semitones or about 96 mm.

### What are the frequencies of Dm7?

From D3 at A440 in 12-TET: 146.83, 174.61, 220.00, 261.63 Hz.

### What is the set class of Dm7?

Prime form (0358), Forte 4-26, interval vector &lt;012120&gt;.

### How do I transpose Dm7 to another key?

Keep the 1, ♭3, 5, ♭7 formula on the new root. Cm7 is C, E♭, G, B♭; C♯m7 is C♯, E, G♯, B.

## 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-7th:d
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12