Triads
B diminished chord
Tense and unstable — it usually wants to resolve up by a half step.
Bdim is the vii° chord in C major. In minor keys: ii° in A minor.
- Notes
- BDF
- Formula
- 1♭3♭5
- Built from
- root · minor 3rd · diminished 5th
How to play Bdim
About the B diminished chord
B diminished is the vii° chord in C major — the one chord in the key built from two minor 3rds. It’s unstable and usually leads straight to C.
Playing it
On guitar, Bdim has an open-position shape, x20401, using three fingers alongside the open strings. Don’t strum the low E string.
On piano, Bdim sits entirely on white keys.
On ukulele the usual Bdim shape is 4212, using four fingers.
