# Dm, the D minor guitar chord

D minor is the most dramatic of the common open chords, plaintive and a little baroque. The index has to reach out to the 1st fret of the high E, and that stretch is where beginners buzz. As with D, keep the strum to the top four strings.

Dm

## How to play it

- Index finger on the high E string (1st), 1st fret.
- Middle finger on the G string (3rd), 2nd fret.
- Ring finger on the B string (2nd), 3rd fret.
- Let the open D string (4th) ring.
- Don't strum the low E string (6th) and A string (5th). They stay silent in this shape.

## Changes to practice

Holding Dm still is the easy part. Songs need you to _arrive_ at it in rhythm, so in Strumhold you practice Dm as changes, alongside the rest of the Open Minors set:

- [Dm ↔ Em](https://strumhold.com/chords/e-minor/) D minor to E minor [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/D.min.D~E.min.E)
- [Dm ↔ Am](https://strumhold.com/chords/a-minor/) D minor to A minor [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/A.min.A~D.min.D)
- [Dm ↔ Gm](https://strumhold.com/chords/g-minor/) D minor to G minor [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/D.min.D~G.min.G)
- [Dm ↔ Cm](https://strumhold.com/chords/c-minor/) D minor to C minor [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/C.min.C~D.min.D)

## Same root, different color

- [D](https://strumhold.com/chords/d-major/), D major
- [D7](https://strumhold.com/chords/d-7/), D dominant 7
- [Dm7](https://strumhold.com/chords/d-minor-7/), D minor 7
- [Dmaj7](https://strumhold.com/chords/d-major-7/), D major 7

## Hear yourself get faster

Strumhold listens to your guitar through your device's mic, a headset, or a line-in from your audio interface. You drill a chord change to a metronome and it scores every single change. Free, no account, works offline.

[Drill Dm in the app](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/D.min.D~E.min.E)