Fretboard
Chord Identifier & Player

Edim chord

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

EdimDiminished
E · B♭ · E · GR ♭5 ♭3also
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Ways to play Edim

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 Edim

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

NoteFormulaInterval from E
E1Root
G♭3Minor 3rd
B♭♭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 Edim

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

KeyEdim is the
D minorii°
F majorvii°
F minor (harmonic)vii°

Progressions to try

vii°–I in F major

  1. Edim
  2. F

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

I–♯i°–ii in E♭ major

  1. E♭
  2. Edim
  3. Fm

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

Other chords on E:

See every chord in the library