Diminished Chords
Let’s look at how to build an E diminished chord on the piano. We’ll also learn the pattern for building 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 building the matching 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.
How to Play an E Diminished Chord
So to build an E diminished chord, we’ll start by building an E minor chord. We can build an E minor chord by taking an E major chord, E – G♯ – B, and lowering the middle note 1/2 step. So an E minor chord is: E – G – B
Then we’ll take the E minor chord and lower the upper-note 1/2 step from B to B♭.
So to play an E diminished chord, we’ll play:
E – G – B♭

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.
The chord symbol for diminished chords can be “dim” or “º”, so we can write E diminished as Edim or Eº.
Other Chord Types
Some 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 an E diminished chord on the piano, and you can use that knowledge to build other diminished chords!
Diminished chords aren’t as commonly used as minor chords, but it’s good to know how to build them when you need them.
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