D Minor 9th (Dm9)

Download MIDI
1+b3+5+b7+9
DFACE
4 4

Notes in D Minor 9th

D (root)FACE

Inversions

Same notes as D Minor 9th, with a different chord tone as the lowest note. Useful for smoother movement between chords instead of jumping around the keyboard.

Root position

D in the bass

DFACE

1st inversion

F in the bass (Dm9/F)

FACED

2nd inversion

A in the bass (Dm9/A)

ACEDF

3rd inversion

C in the bass (Dm9/C)

CEDFA

4th inversion

E in the bass (Dm9/E)

EDFAC

Open voicings

A close-position chord like D Minor 9th can sound cluttered in the middle of the keyboard. Jazz players open it up by dropping one note down an octave, spreading the same notes wider without changing the chord.

Drop 2

C on the bottom

CDFAE

Drop 3

A on the bottom

ADFCE

The notes D, F, A, C and E make up D Minor 9th.

A minor seventh chord with a ninth added softens the mood even further into something smooth and atmospheric. Jazz, R&B and lo-fi styles all reach for it whenever a minor chord needs to feel rich rather than sparse.

Difficulty: Advanced. Category: Extended chords. Click any highlighted key on the diagram above, or tab to it and press Enter, to hear that single note. Inversions mark the bass note with a contrasting outline.