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Tomus

Key reference

The key of D minor

1 flat · D – E – F – G – A – B♭ – C

D minor has 1 flat: B♭. A piece in this key draws on D, E, F, G, A, B♭, C and treats D as home.

The seven chords below are the ones built from those notes alone, which is why they sound like they belong together.

The key signature

𝄞♭
The key signature of D minor: B.

Order of flats

  1. B♭
  2. E♭
  3. A♭
  4. D♭
  5. G♭
  6. C♭
  7. F♭

This signature uses the first 1 of them: B♭.

The notes of the key

These are the notes of the natural minor scale on this tonic. Pieces in a minor key routinely raise the seventh, and sometimes the sixth, without changing the signature. See the D minor scale for the degrees and step pattern.

D – E – F – G – A – B♭ – C

The seven diatonic chords

Build a triad on each degree using only notes from the key and the qualities fall into a fixed pattern. That pattern is the same in every minor key, which is why progressions transpose so cleanly.

DegreeRomanChordNotesFunction
1iDmD – F – ATonic
2ii°EdimE – G – B♭Predominant
3IIIFF – A – CTonic
4ivGmG – B♭ – DPredominant
5vAmA – C – EDominant
6VIB♭B♭ – D – FTonic
7VIICC – E – GSubtonic

Adding sevenths

Stack one more third on each and you get the seventh chords of the key.

RomanChordNotes
iDm7D – F – A – C
ii°Em7♭5E – G – B♭ – D
IIIFmaj7F – A – C – E
ivGm7G – B♭ – D – F
vAm7A – C – E – G
VIB♭maj7B♭ – D – F – A
VII7C7C – E – G – B♭

Common progressions in D minor

These are the same shapes you meet in every minor key, written with this key’s chords.

One caveat: the chords below are the strictly diatonic ones. In practice the chord on the fifth degree is usually raised to major (borrowing the leading tone from harmonic minor), because the natural minor’s minor v has no leading tone and so does not pull back to the tonic.

i – VI – III – VII

  1. DmiTonic
  2. B♭VITonic
  3. FIIITonic
  4. CVIISubtonic

i – iv – v – i

  1. DmiTonic
  2. GmivPredominant
  3. AmvDominant
  4. DmiTonic

i – VII – VI – V

  1. DmiTonic
  2. CVIISubtonic
  3. B♭VITonic
  4. AmvDominant

Related keys

RelationshipKeySignature
Relative majorF majorSame signature
Parallel majorD major2 sharps
One step sharpwardsA minorOne more sharp
One step flatwardsG minorOne more flat
Neighbouring keys on the circle of fifths share six of their seven notes.

Related

All minor keys