Fretboard
Chord Identifier & Player

Cdim chord

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

CdimDiminished
C · G♭ · C · E♭R ♭5 ♭3also
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Ways to play Cdim

Lowest on the neck first. 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 Cdim

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

NoteFormulaInterval from C
C1Root
E♭♭3Minor 3rd
G♭♭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 Cdim

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

KeyCdim is the
B♭ minorii°
D♭ majorvii°
C♯ minor (harmonic)vii°

Progressions to try

vii°–I in D♭ major

  1. Cdim
  2. D♭

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

I–♯i°–ii in B major

  1. B
  2. Cdim
  3. C♯m

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

Other chords on C:

See every chord in the library