Triads
C diminished chord
Tense and unstable — it usually wants to resolve up by a half step.
Cdim is the vii° chord in D♭ major. In minor keys: ii° in B♭ minor.
- Notes
- CE♭G♭
- Formula
- 1♭3♭5
- Built from
- root · minor 3rd · diminished 5th
How to play Cdim
About the C diminished chord
Playing it
On guitar, the usual Cdim shape is x3454x at the 3rd fret. It has no open strings, so it’s a movable shape — slide it along the neck for other diminished chords. Don’t strum the low E and high E strings.
On piano, Cdim has two black keys (E♭ and G♭) and one white key.
On ukulele the usual Cdim shape is 5323, using four fingers.
