D Minor CAGED Chord Shapes: All 5 Positions on Guitar

D minor is D, F and A. The CAGED system gives five shapes for it up the neck: the C shape from the 2nd fret, the A shape from the 5th fret, the G shape from the 7th fret, the E shape from the 10th fret and the D shape from the 12th fret. The D shape is also the open Dm chord you may already know.

Keys

CAGED Chords — Dm

2C shape
5A shape
7G shape
10E shape
12D shape

Triads — Dm

Root position

2C shape
5A shape
7G shape
10E shape

The notes of Dm

Dm is a minor triad: root, minor third and fifth (1 ♭3 5), which is a minor third (three frets) with a major third (four frets) on top. Every shape below is those three notes, doubled in different octaves.

How the five shapes connect

From the bottom of the neck up, the shapes run C (2), A (5), G (7), E (10) and D (12). Each one starts where the last one's top notes are, so playing them in order moves one chord up the whole fretboard. After the D shape, the C shape comes round again twelve frets higher.

The A shape and G shape share 2 notes (A on the D string at fret 7 and D on the G string at fret 7), which is the hinge between them.

Where the root, D, sits in each shape: C shape: A; A shape: A and G; G shape: low E and G; E shape: low E, D and high e; D shape: D and B. Find that string first and the rest of the shape falls into place around it.

Where Dm appears

Dm belongs to 8 keys: ii in C major, vi in F major and iii in B♭ major; i in D minor, v in G minor and iv in A minor; i in D harmonic minor and iv in A harmonic minor.

Of those, C major, D minor, A minor, D harmonic minor and A harmonic minor are keys guitarists play in constantly, because their open strings ring with the scale, so Dm turns up often in songs.

Open strings and capo options for Dm

Two open strings are part of Dm: the A string (the fifth) and the D string (root). Because the root is among them, you can let it drone under any of the shapes.

There's an open Dm chord at the nut: the D shape.

With a capo you can also play it as the Am shape with the capo at fret 5.

The closest chords to Dm share two of its three notes: its relative major and the chords a fourth and a fifth away, which are its neighbours in D minor.

Dm CAGED FAQs

What notes are in a Dm chord?

D, F and A: the root, minor third and fifth (1 ♭3 5).

What are the CAGED shapes for D minor?

the C shape from the 2nd fret, the A shape from the 5th fret, the G shape from the 7th fret, the E shape from the 10th fret and the D shape from the 12th fret. C shape is the lowest; the C shape repeats twelve frets higher.

Is there an open Dm chord?

Yes. It's the D shape at the nut, the same shape as the D shape on this page twelve frets lower.

Learn more

The CAGED system explained covers how the five shapes are built and linked, and minor CAGED shapes shows how each one changes for minor. The CAGED guitar lessons set out what to learn next, and the CAGED library has every major and minor chord.