Julie Swihart

Diminished Chords

Let’s look at how to play a Cdim (C diminished) chord on the piano. We’ll also learn the pattern for building any 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. Minor chords are built using the first, third and fifth notes of the matching minor scale. Another way to build a minor chord is to build the matching major chord and lower 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, etc.).

Get the Printable

How to Play a Cdim Chord

Now let’s build a Cdim chord on the piano. We’ll start by building a C minor chord using the first, third and fifth notes of the matching C minor scale: C – E♭ – G

Then we’ll lower the upper-note G 1/2 step, to G♭.

So to play a Cdim chord, we’ll play:

C – E♭ – G♭

You can use this pattern to build any diminished chord on the piano. Start with a minor chord, then lower the upper-note 1/2 step.

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

Other Chord Types

Some of the other chord types you can learn are:

Major
Minor
Augmented
Second
Minor Second
Suspended
Fifth
Sixth
Minor Sixth
Seventh
Minor Seventh
Major Seventh
Ninth
Minor Ninth
Major ninth

Conclusion

Now you know how to build a Cdim chord on the piano, and you can use that pattern to build any diminished chord.

Using patterns to build chords, and using chords to play the piano is a wonderful way to enjoy music.