Minor Second Chords

Let’s look at how to play a D flat minor 2 chord on the piano. We’ll also learn the pattern for building any other minor second chord.

What Are Minor Second Chords?

Minor second chords are minor chords with an added note. The added note is the second note of the matching major scale.

So to build a minor second chord, we’ll start with a minor chord. We can build a minor chord by taking the matching major chord and lowering the middle note 1/2 step.

Then to convert the minor chord into a minor second chord, we’ll add the second note of the matching major scale.

Chord Types Printable

Learn to play 17 types of piano chords using 12 different root notes with this 35-page PDF! Chords are sorted both by their root note and type.

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How to Play a D Flat Minor 2 Chord

So to play a D flat minor 2 chord we’ll first build a D flat minor chord. We can build a D flat minor chord by taking a D flat major chord, D♭ – F – A♭, and lowering the middle note 1/2 step: D♭ – F♭ – A♭

If you’re wondering why we would label the middle note “F♭” instead of “E”, it’s because we are using the notes of the D flat major scale to build this chord. The D flat minor chord is built by taking a D flat major chord and lowering the middle note 1/2 step. And the D flat major chord is built using the first, third and fifth notes of the D flat major scale. So when we take a D flat major chord and turn it into a D flat minor chord, we are lowering the third note of the D flat major scale from “F” to “F♭”.

Then to convert the D flat minor chord into a D flat minor second chord, we’ll add the second note of the D flat major scale: E♭

So to play a D flat minor 2 chord, we’ll play:

D♭ – E♭ – F♭ – A♭

We can use this knowledge to build any other minor second chord! First we’ll build a minor chord by taking the matching major chord and lowering the middle note 1/2 step. Then we’ll add the second note of the matching major scale to the chord.

Add9 Chords

The D flat minor 2 chord uses the same notes as the D flat minor add9 chord. The D flat minor add9 chord is a minor chord with an added note. The added note is the ninth note of the matching major scale, which is the same as the second note of the scale, just one octave up. So the D flat minor 2 and D flat minor add9 chords have the same notes, just in a different order:

D flat minor 2 chord: D♭ – E♭ – F♭ – A♭
D flat minor add9 chord: D♭ – F♭ – A♭ – E♭

Other Chord Types

Some of the other chord types we can learn are:

Major
Minor
Augmented
Diminished
Second
Suspended
Fifth
Sixth
Minor Sixth
Seventh
Minor Seventh
Major Seventh
Ninth
Minor Ninth
Major Ninth

Conclusion

Now you know how to build a D flat minor 2 chord on the piano, and you can use this knowledge to build any other minor second chord!

These chords can work well as substitutions where minor chords are called for, since adding the second note to a minor chord can make the chord sound more rich and full.

I hope you enjoy using these chords at the piano!