How to play Dm (D Minor) on Bass
Diagram, notes, and audio for the Dm chord on bass. Free in your browser.
About Dm on bass
D minor on bass uses the open D string for the root and the open A string for the fifth — the most-ergonomic minor chord on the instrument. Like D major, D minor is one of the most beginner-friendly bass keys because two of the chord's three notes are available as open strings, leaving the fretting hand free to add walking notes, octaves, or dynamic accents.
Dm is the i chord in D minor (one flat: Bb), the ii in C major, and the vi in F major. On bass, Dm most often appears as the ii in C-key songs — any walking line in C that visits Dm-G-C uses this open-string anchor. Pop, rock, and folk all rely on Dm for emotional contrast, and the bass anchors that contrast in the lowest part of its range.
Famous bass lines in or around D minor include the descending verse motif of Hotel California, the verse of Stairway to Heaven (which alternates between D minor and related chords), and countless 12-bar minor blues. The descending Dm-C-Bb-A bass line is especially common in flamenco-tinged or Andalusian-cadence songs, and it sits naturally on the bass's E and A strings.
Frequently asked questions
- Where is D on the bass guitar?
- The open D string is the lowest D. There's also a D on the 5th fret of the A string and another on the 7th fret of the G string.
- Is D minor easy on bass?
- Yes — like D major, the root and fifth are both open strings (D and A). The minor character comes from any third the bass might add, but the basic root-fifth shape requires no fretting.
- What chords pair with Dm on bass?
- Gm (iv), A or Am (V or v), F (relative major), and C (VII). Together they cover the natural-minor diatonic palette of D minor.
Switch instruments
See Dm on a different instrument — same chord, new diagram.