Play Cdim3 shapes
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12 diagrams · 12 playable
Play C#dim3 shapes
Play Ddim3 shapes
Play D#dim3 shapes
Play Edim3 shapes
Play Fdim3 shapes
Play F#dim3 shapes
Play Gdim3 shapes
Play G#dim3 shapes
Play Adim3 shapes
Play A#dim3 shapes
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Anatomy
Diminished Chord Formula
The 3 scale degrees that form every diminished chord — in any key.
I
Root0 st
♭III
Minor 3rd+3 st
♭V
Diminished 5th+6 st
A diminished triad is a minor chord with the 5th flattened by one semitone. That leaves two minor 3rds stacked on top of each other and a tritone between the outer notes — the least stable interval in Western harmony. Nothing in the chord is a perfect interval, so there is nowhere for the ear to settle, and the chord is heard as needing to move rather than as somewhere to arrive.
Applied to C: C (root) – E♭ (minor 3rd) – G♭ (diminished 5th). Applied to B: B – D – F. Applied to A: A – C – E♭.
About this tool
About Diminished Chords on Guitar
The diminished chord — written with "dim" or a small circle after the root letter, as in Cdim or C° — is a three-note chord built from the root, the minor 3rd and the diminished 5th (formula 1 – ♭3 – ♭5). Start from a minor chord and lower the 5th by a single fret and you have it. That one semitone changes everything: the perfect 5th that holds a minor chord together becomes a tritone, the interval medieval theorists nicknamed the devil in music, and the chord loses any sense of rest. This is why a diminished chord is nearly always a passing chord rather than a destination. It appears naturally on the 7th degree of every major scale and the 2nd degree of every natural minor scale, and guitarists most often meet it walking chromatically between two chords a whole step apart — the classic move from a chord up a half step into the next one. The main shape here has its root on the A string and no open strings, so it slides to all 12 roots without changing fingering. Every root also gets two compact three-note triads on adjacent strings, which are what you want when the chord has to sit above a bass note or move through a solo. Do not confuse the triad with the diminished 7th: dim7 adds a fourth note on top, and chord charts routinely print "dim" when they mean "dim7".
- 01Built from 3 notes: root, minor 3rd, and diminished 5th (formula 1 – ♭3 – ♭5)
- 02A minor triad with the 5th flattened by one semitone
- 03Written with "dim" or a degree sign: Cdim, C°
- 04Two minor 3rds stacked, with a tritone between the outer notes
- 05The A-string root shape has no open strings, so one fingering covers all 12 roots
- 06Two extra three-note triads per root on the D-G-B and G-B-e string sets
- 07Occurs on the 7th degree of the major scale and the 2nd of the natural minor
- 08Usually a passing chord between two stable chords, not a resting point
- 09Distinct from a diminished 7th (dim7), which adds a fourth note on top
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
A diminished chord is a three-note chord made of the root, the minor 3rd and the diminished 5th. For example, Cdim contains C, E♭ and G♭. It is a minor chord with the 5th lowered by one semitone.
The formula is 1 – ♭3 – ♭5: root, minor third (three semitones up), diminished fifth (six semitones up). Applied to C that is C, E♭ and G♭.
One note. Cm is C, E♭ and G. Cdim keeps the C and the E♭ but flattens the G to G♭. That single semitone replaces the perfect 5th with a tritone, which is what makes the chord sound unstable.
Because there is no perfect interval in them to rest on. The outer notes are a tritone apart, historically the most unstable interval in Western harmony, and the ear hears it as something that has to resolve somewhere.
No. A diminished triad has three notes (1 – ♭3 – ♭5). A diminished 7th (dim7 or °7) adds a fourth, the diminished 7th, on top. Chord charts often print "dim" when they mean "dim7", so it is worth checking the notes rather than trusting the label.
There are 12 diminished triads — one for each note in the chromatic scale: Cdim, C#dim/D♭dim, Ddim, D#dim/E♭dim, Edim, Fdim, F#dim/G♭dim, Gdim, G#dim/A♭dim, Adim, A#dim/B♭dim, and Bdim.
The main A-string shape uses four: index on the root, middle on the D string one fret up, ring on the B string level with the middle finger, and pinky on the G string one fret above. The three-string triads on this site need only three fingers and are easier to grab quickly.
Almost always as a passing chord. The most common use is a chromatic link between two chords a whole step apart — playing the diminished chord built on the note between them. It also appears as the vii chord of a major key, where it leads strongly back to the tonic.
The four-finger A-string shape takes some practice because the fingers sit on three different frets. The three-note triads on the D-G-B and G-B-e strings are much easier — three fingers, a three-fret span, and no muting problems in the middle of the chord.
All Chord Types
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