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Chord & Fret

Harmonic field of D minor on cavaquinho

D minor: D – E – F – G – A – Bb – C. In the shapes below, the tonic opens with the bass on F. On the cavaquinho, four steel strings tuned D–G–B–D pack the chord into a small, bright space — every finger counts. Its four steel strings give a bright, sharp attack that cuts through the mix and drives the beat.

Dm7, 3 2 1 0Dm7321FACD
i · tonic3 2 1 0
Em7b5, 2 3 3 5Em7b51234EBbDG
ii° · subdominant2 3 3 5
Fmaj7, 3 2 1 2Fmaj74213FACE
III · tonic3 2 1 2
Gm7, 5 3 3 3Gm73111GBbDF
iv · subdominant5 3 3 3
Am7, 2 2 1 5Am72314EACG
v · dominant2 2 1 5
Bbmaj7, 3 3 3 7Bbmaj731114FBbDA
VI · tonic3 3 3 7
C7, 2 3 1 2C72413EBbCE
VII · dominant2 3 1 2

This is the natural-minor field. In practice the v often becomes V (major) or V7 — borrowed from the harmonic minor — to create the leading tone that pulls back to the tonic.

These are the first positions of every degree of D minor on cavaquinho. In Chord & Fret, the Circle of Fifths opens the full field — every degree with all its positions, audio and the key's secondary dominants. Open in Chord & Fret →

See the full harmonic field of D minor →