Fretboard
Chord Identifier & Player

Ddim chord

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

DdimDiminished
D · A♭ · D · FR ♭5 ♭3also
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Ways to play Ddim

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 Ddim

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

NoteFormulaInterval from D
D1Root
F♭3Minor 3rd
A♭♭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 Ddim

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

KeyDdim is the
C minorii°
E♭ majorvii°
E♭ minor (harmonic)vii°

Progressions to try

vii°–I in E♭ major

  1. Ddim
  2. E♭

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

I–♯i°–ii in D♭ major

  1. D♭
  2. Ddim
  3. E♭m

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

Other chords on D:

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