D♯ minor
The minor key with the tonic D♯. It has six sharps in the key signature and the same notes as F♯ major.
- Tonic
- D♯
- Key signature
- six ♯ (F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯, E♯)
- Tonic chord
- D♯–F♯–A♯
- Dominant
- A♯ major, A♯–C double sharp–E♯
- Leading tone
- C double sharp
- Relative key
- F♯ major
- Parallel key
- D♯ major
- Enharmonic equivalent
- E♭ minor (six flats)
A key with six sharps
D♯ minor shares all its notes with F♯ major. Because the key signature grows in the order of the fifths (see the page Accidental), it has six ♯ here (F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯, E♯). In the notation of this glossary every sharp of the key signature appears as an accidental before the note, so that you can see the notes one by one.
Natural minor
The same notes as F♯ major, only the scale begins on the tonic of D♯ minor. The semitone steps lie between the second and third and between the fifth and sixth notes. Every note of the key signature appears here as an accidental before the note.
Harmonic minor
The seventh degree is raised by a semitone, here to C double sharp. This creates a leading tone a semitone below the tonic, and between the sixth and seventh degrees lies the augmented second.
The cadence
The cadence in the listening example links tonic, subdominant, dominant and tonic. In the minor cadence the dominant is a major chord, because it contains the leading tone, which pulls upwards to the tonic.
Enharmonics and rarity
E♭ minor is enharmonically equivalent, with six flats. D♯ minor is mostly written as E♭ minor, because E♭ minor manages without a double sharp even in harmonic minor (D instead of C double sharp); D♯ minor appears mainly where a piece modulates here from C♯ minor or G♯ minor. This is enharmonic equivalence: on the piano the same keys serve for both spellings.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting the accidentals: Every note has its accidental, even if it is not in the key signature.
- Confusing tonic and relative key: D♯ minor and F♯ major have the same notes but different tonics.
- Spelling the mode word with a capital: Write the note letter as a capital and the mode word in lowercase: “D♯ minor”.
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Related terms
MinorNatural minorHarmonic minorMelodic minorF♯ majorRelative keyCircle of fifthsAccidentalEnharmonic equivalence
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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