A diminished chord is composed using a root/1^st, minor 3^rd and a diminished 5^th (or R/1-3-5) intervals played simultaneously. Generally written as C, Cdim or Cmi⁽⁵⁾, it is good practice to simply use an upper case C and a superscripted lowercase (ie: C) to represent it in writing.

In guitar, the intervals of a diminished chord may not always be played in tonal order (root/1^st, minor 3^rd, diminished 5^th, in this order) however the root note will always be the lowest tone (and most distinct) unless it is an inversion. For example: a C chord played on the 3^rd fret using voicing #2 has a interval sequence of: root/1^st, diminished 5^th, root/1^st (octave) and minor 3^rd or R/1-5-1-3.

The tonality of a diminished chord is dissonant, non-centered and unstable (as opposed to a major chord which is stable and resolved), and is in need of resolution to the root. The diminished chord occurs naturally in the harmonized major scale at the seventh degree, for example: in the key of C major, B is the VII chord.

Diminished Triad

In music theory, a diminished chord belongs to a group of chords called triads. A triad is a three note chord composed using specific intervals, those being the root/1^st, the 3^rd and the 5^th degrees (note absence of interval quality). As previously shown, a diminished triad is composed using a root/1^st, minor 3^rd and diminished 5^th (R/1-3-5) intervals. Other triads are built by raising or lowering the 3^rd and 5^th degrees. For instance, a major triad interval structure is root/1^st, major 3^rd and perfect 5^th (R/1-3-5). The interval structure for an augmented triad is root/1^st, major 3^rd and augmented 5^th (R/1-3-5), and a minor triad is root/1^st, minor 3^rd and perfect 5^th (R/1-3-5).

Major, minor and diminished triads occur naturally in a harmonized major scale (triads), an augmented triad is simply a major triad with a raised fifth degree.

Diminished Chord Profile

Intervals	root/1st, minor 3rd, diminished 5th or R/1-3-5
Stability	Dissonant / Unstable / Unresolved
Grouping Class	Triad
Common Names (examples in C)	C, Cdim, Cmi(5)

Diminished Chord Voicings

The chord voicings below are not shown in any particular key, they are shapes which can be moved around the guitar neck freely using the root note (circled dot) as your navigator. See example below.

• How to use
• As an example, let's say you require a D major chord
• After playing all the chord voicings, you decide on voicing #2
• Voicing #2 has it's root on the 5^th string so you need to find the D note on this string
• Click the notes on the neck chart tab and find the D note on the 5^th fret (5^th string)
• Now play D major using voicing #2 on the 5^th fret
• Use the Octave chart tab to help you remember which notes are where
• Use the Chord chart help tab if your a beginner at reading chord boxes

Diminished Chord Audio Sample(s)

To download audio sample(s) for later listening, right click on the MP3 link, then from the context menu that appears select Save Target As (Internet Explorer) or Save Link As (Firefox).

Audio Sample Name	Flash	MP3
D Diminished Chord voicing #1		d-diminished-chord-voicing-1.mp3

Related Lessons & Resources

• Guitar Lessons
• • How to read chord diagrams
  • Open chords part 1
• Music Theory
• • Harmonizing a major scale (triads)

External Resources

• Diminished chord at Wikipedia.org