Guitar chord · Triads
B♭ diminished chord on guitar
x12320 · Open position
All 6 shapes, tab & fingering ↓
6 ways to play B♭dim on guitar, with finger positions, tabs and step-by-step instructions.
Tense and unstable — it usually wants to resolve up by a half step.
B♭dim is the vii° chord in B major. In minor keys: ii° in G♯ minor.
- Notes
- B♭D♭F♭
- Formula
- 1♭3♭5
- Built from
- root · minor 3rd · diminished 5th
Guitar
Standard tuning (E A D G B E) · 6 voicings · E string on the left · Other tunings →
How to play it · Open position
- 6th string (low E): don’t play — mute it
- 5th string (A): 1st fret, index finger (1) B♭
- 4th string (D): 2nd fret, middle finger (2) F♭
- 3rd string (G): 3rd fret, pinky finger (4) B♭
- 2nd string (B): 2nd fret, ring finger (3) D♭
- 1st string (high E): play open F♭
Tablature
e|--0---| B|--2---| G|--3---| D|--2---| A|--1---| E|--x---|
Top line is the high E string. x = don’t play, 0 = open string.
Every B♭dim note on the guitar neck
Bright dots are the selected voicing — the rest are other places you can find the same chord tones.
Tips for playing B♭dim on guitar
On guitar, B♭dim has an open-position shape, x12320, using four fingers alongside the open strings. Don’t strum the low E string.
Notice the F♭ in B♭dim (B♭ D♭ F♭): each note of the chord takes its own letter (B–D–F), so the diminished 5th has to be written F♭ rather than E — the same key on a piano, spelled to fit the chord.
