Fretboard
Chord Identifier & Player

D♯dim chord

D♯ diminished. The notes are D♯, F♯ and A. Also written E♭dim. Four ways to play it are below the neck.

D♯dimDiminished
D♯ · A · D♯ · F♯R ♭5 ♭3also
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Ways to play D♯dim

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 D♯dim

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

NoteFormulaInterval from D♯
D♯1Root
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 D♯dim

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.

KeyD♯dim is the
C♯ minorii°
E majorvii°
E minor (harmonic)vii°

Progressions to try

vii°–I in E major

  1. D♯dim
  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. D♯dim
  3. Em

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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