How to Play a Bdim Chord on the Piano

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.

piano chords printable charts

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.).

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

bdim chord piano

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!

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