Dm ukulele chord
Darker and more melancholy than major. A single semitone — the flattened third — makes the whole difference.
D minor · standard GCEA tuning · 3 shapes
How to Play Dm on Ukulele
The easiest shape is 2210: G string 2nd fret · C string 2nd fret · E string 1st fret · A string open.
Open position
2 2 1 0
Barre at fret 5
7 5 5 5
Up the neck, fret 9
10 9 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 Dm
A ukulele has four strings, so a 3-note chord doubles one of its notes on the spare string. 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 Dm
Dm 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
Dm on Other Instruments
- Guitar: see the Dm guitar chord — six strings, so the shapes are different, but the notes are the same.
- Baritone ukulele (DGBE): 0231. 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.
Related Ukulele Chords
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 →