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The Dm/A chord on guitar: D minor with A in the bass

If you can play an open D minor, you can already play Dm/A. The fretting hand does not change at all: you simply let the open A string ring under the chord instead of skipping it. That one extra string is the whole point, and the reason songwriters write the slash.

Dm/A chord: notes and shapes at a glance

  • Name: D minor over A
  • Symbol: Dm/A
  • Notes: D, F, A
  • Bass note: A, the lowest note you play
  • Where it belongs: ii in C major, vi in F major, iii in Bb major, i in D minor, iv in A minor

Each shape below is written from the thickest string to the thinnest: a number is the fret, 0 an open string, x a string you do not play. New to this? See how to read chord diagrams.

Shape Frets, low E to high E Notes, low to high What it is for
Dm/A, open x00231 A D A D F The open D minor with the A string left ringing. Nothing new for the fretting hand.
Dm/A, fifth fret, four strings xx7765 A D F A The A minor shape at the fifth fret. The lowest note is the A on the D string.
Dm/A, A on the low E 5x776x A A D F A deeper A in the bass, on the sixth string. The A string is muted by the first finger.
Dm/A, open x 0 0 2 3 1 · · · 2 3 1 fingers
Dm/A, fifth fret, four strings x x 7 7 6 5 · · 3 4 2 1 fingers
Dm/A, A on the low E 5 x 7 7 6 x 1 · 3 4 2 · fingers

Read each diagram from the thickest string on the left to the thinnest on the right. A cross means the string is not played, a circle means it rings open.

Dm/A on the neck: every D, F, A

Standard tuning, frets 0 to 12. The highlighted notes are the notes of Dm/A: any shape you build from them, anywhere on the neck, is still Dm/A.

Fretboard notes
Swipe the fretboard sideways to see every fret.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1 - E
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
2 - B
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
3 - G
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
4 - D
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
5 - A
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
6 - E
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E

What the slash means

A slash chord reads as “chord over bass note”. Dm/A is D minor (D, F, A) with A as the lowest note. Nothing is added and nothing is taken away: the notes are the same as in Dm, stacked in a different order.

A is the fifth of D minor, so Dm/A is the second inversion of the chord. With the third, F, in the bass you get the first inversion, Dm/F. With D in the bass, it is plain D minor.

How to play Dm/A, step by step

  1. First finger on the high E string, fret 1 (F).
  2. Second finger on the G string, fret 2 (A).
  3. Third finger on the B string, fret 3 (D).
  4. Strum from the A string down, five strings. The open A is your bass, the open D the root above it.

The only string to avoid is the low E. E is not in D minor, and played under the chord it muddies everything. If your pick keeps catching it, let the tip of your thumb rest lightly against it from behind the neck.

For a fingerpicking pattern, put the thumb on the A string for beat one and let the fingers play the top three strings. You will hear at once why the bass note matters.

Why Dm/A: a bass that does not move

Dm/A shines in the key of A minor. Am is x02210, Dm/A is x00231: both start on the open A string. Going from one to the other, the chord changes on top while the bass stays put. With a plain Dm, the bass would jump from A up to D and back.

Change Shapes What to watch
Am to Dm/A x02210 to x00231 The second finger slides from the D string to the G string at fret 2. The open A never stops ringing.
G to Dm/A 320003 to x00231 The bass moves one step up, from G on the low E to the open A. Start the strum one string over.
F to Dm/A xx3211 to x00231 Two notes in common, F and A. Keep the strum going.

To hear it in context: in Ed Sheeran's I See Fire, the progression runs Am, F, G, Dm/A, and Dm/A lets the bass sit on A before the return to A minor.

Frequently asked questions

What does Dm/A mean?
D minor with A as the lowest note. The slash reads as “over”: the chord is D minor, the note after the slash is the bass. A is the fifth of D minor, so Dm/A is also called D minor in second inversion.
How do you play Dm/A on guitar?
Play the open D minor, xx0231, and let the open A string ring: x00231. First finger on the high E at fret 1, second finger on the G string at fret 2, third finger on the B string at fret 3. Start the strum on the A string and skip only the low E.
What notes are in Dm/A?
The same three notes as D minor, D, F and A. The only difference is the order: A is the lowest note you hear.
Can I play Dm instead of Dm/A?
Yes, the chord is the same and nobody will hear a wrong note. What you lose is the bass line: in a song that sits on A minor, Dm/A keeps the open A ringing underneath, where a plain Dm makes the bass jump up to D.
What is the difference between Dm/A and Dm/F?
Both are D minor. Dm/A puts the fifth, A, in the bass; Dm/F puts the minor third, F, in the bass. Dm/A sounds open and anchored, Dm/F darker and more on the move.
Yohann Abbou, guitar teacher and founder of Guitar Social Club

Who made this

Guitar Social Club is the work of Yohann Abbou, a guitar teacher in Paris who teaches adults. Every shape on this page is written string by string and checked against standard tuning, and the diagrams are drawn from those same fret numbers. The rest of our free guitar tools, including the chord finder, work the same way.

More about Yohann on his page, and about why Guitar Social Club exists.