Fretboard
Chord Identifier & Player

Adim chord

A diminished. The notes are A, C and E♭. Four ways to play it are below the neck.

AdimDiminished
A · E♭ · A · CR ♭5 ♭3also
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Ways to play Adim

Open position first, then up the neck. Tap a shape to put it on the fretboard above and hear it. The numbers are fingers (1 is your index), × means leave that string out, and ○ means let it ring open.

What's in Adim

A diminished triad stacks two minor 3rds: root, minor 3rd and flat 5th. Adim is A, C, E♭. The root and ♭5 are a tritone apart, the same interval that drives a dominant 7th.

NoteFormulaInterval from A
A1Root
C♭3Minor 3rd
E♭♭5Diminished 5th

Tight and unsettled, and it rarely stays put. It is the vii° chord of a major key, and as a passing chord it bridges two chords a whole step apart.

Keys that use Adim

Every major and minor key whose scale contains all of A, C and E♭, and the chord's Roman numeral in each. Minor keys marked harmonic get the chord from the raised 7th of the harmonic minor scale.

KeyAdim is the
G minorii°
B♭ majorvii°
B♭ minor (harmonic)vii°

Progressions to try

vii°–I in B♭ major

  1. Adim
  2. B♭

A diminished triad wants to rise a half step to the chord above it.

I–♯i°–ii in A♭ major

  1. A♭
  2. Adim
  3. B♭m

As a passing chord, the bass climbs one half step at a time between two chords a whole step apart.

Other chords on A:

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