Dm7 ukulele chord

Mellow and smooth. Softer than a plain minor chord, and the backbone of soul, funk, and jazz comping.

D minor 7th · standard GCEA tuning · 3 shapes

How to Play Dm7 on Ukulele

The easiest shape is 2213: G string 2nd fret · C string 2nd fret · E string 1st fret · A string 3rd fret.

Dm7 ukulele chord, First position

First position

2 2 1 3

Dm7 ukulele chord, Barre at fret 55

Barre at fret 5

5 5 5 5

Dm7 ukulele chord, Up the neck, fret 1010

Up the neck, fret 10

10 0 10 0

Strings left to right are G, C, E and A, as the ukulele faces you. Numbers are frets; 0 means play the string open. Every shape is worked out from the notes the chord must contain and checked against them before it is published.

Notes in Dm7

D
root
F
♭3rd
A
5th
C
♭7th

A ukulele has four strings, so a 4-note chord uses every string for a different note — there is nothing left to double. Because the G string is tuned high (reentrant tuning), the lowest note you hear is usually on the C or E string, not the G.

Songs and Keys That Use Dm7

Dm7 belongs to 3 major keys: C major (as the ii chord), F major (as the vi chord) and B♭ major (as the iii chord).

  • ii – V – I — the central cadence in jazz
  • I – vi – ii – V — the 1950s doo-wop turnaround
  • vi – IV – I – V — the pop-punk staple

Dm7 on Other Instruments

  • Guitar: see the Dm7 guitar chord — six strings, so the shapes are different, but the notes are the same.
  • Baritone ukulele (DGBE): 0211. A baritone is tuned like the top four strings of a guitar, so guitar shapes carry over and standard-ukulele shapes do not. Tune one with the baritone ukulele tuner.
  • Same notes: Dm7 contains exactly the notes of F6, so one shape plays both.

Tune first

A right shape on an out-of-tune ukulele still sounds wrong. Check G, C, E and A in a few seconds.

Open the Ukulele Tuner →