Julie Swihart

Diminished Chords

Let’s look at how to play a Bdim (“B diminished”) chord on the piano. We can use this pattern to build any other diminished chord.

What Are Diminished Chords?

Diminished chords are minor chords with the upper-note lowered 1/2 step.

So to build a diminished chord, we’ll start by building a minor chord. We can build a minor chord by taking a major chord and lowering the middle note 1/2 step.

Then to convert the minor chord into a diminished chord, we’ll lower the upper-note 1/2 step.

This post covers diminished chords in more detail.

Chord Types Printable

Learn to play 17 types of piano chords using 12 different root notes with this 34-page PDF! Chords are sorted both by their root note (C, D, E, etc.) and type (major, minor, augmented, diminished, etc.).

Get the Printable

How to Play a Bdim Chord

To build a Bdim chord, we’ll first build a B minor chord. We can build a B minor chord by taking a B major chord and lowering the middle note 1/2 step: B – D – F♯

Then we’ll take the upper-note, F♯, and lower it 1/2 step to F.

So to play a Bdim chord, we’ll play:

B – D – F

We can use this pattern to build any other diminished chord, by taking the matching minor chord and lowering the upper-note 1/2 step.

Another way to label diminished chords is with the º symbol, so we could also write Bdim as Bº.

Conclusion

Now you know how to build a Bdim chord on the piano, and you can use that pattern to build any other diminished chord!

Chords are a wonderful way to learn and enjoy the piano!