Diminished Chords

Let’s look at how to play a 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 major chords with the middle note lowered 1/2 step.

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

Chord Types Printable

Learn to play 17 types of piano chords using 12 different root notes with this 35-page PDF! Chords are sorted both by their root note and type.

Get the Printable

How to Play a C Diminished Chord

Now let’s build a Cdim chord on the piano. We’ll start by building a C minor chord by taking a C major chord and lowering the middle note 1/2 step: 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 other diminished chord on the piano. Start with a minor chord, then lower the upper-note 1/2 step.

Chord Symbols

Chord symbols are abbreviations for chords.

There are several ways to indicate diminished chords using chord symbols.

One way to indicate diminished chords is by using the º symbol, so we could write a C diminished chord symbol as:

Cº

Another way to indicate diminished chords is with the “dim” abbreviation. So we could also write a C diminished chord symbol as:

Cdim

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 C diminished chord on the piano, and you can use that pattern to build any other diminished chord.

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