Diminished Guitar Chords

dim or º

Right and Left Handed Chord Charts

There are a variety of diminished guitar chords. These include, diminished (dim or º), diminished 7th (dim 7 or о7), half diminished 7th (ø7 or m7b5), 7th diminished 5th (7 -5 or 7b5), 9th diminished 5th (9 -5 or 9b5)...

In this session, we will be looking at the 3-note diminished chord or triad. Many guitarists prefer to play a diminished 7th chord (4-note chord) instead of a diminished chord... the choice is yours, but they are handy to know.

The diminished chord is a dissonant or unstable chord and generally needs resolution, however, if used cleverly the tension can sound awesome.

A dim chord is a diminished triad consisting of 2 minor thirds above the root or tonic, therefore having a root, minor third & diminished 5th.
The chord formula for a diminished (dim) chord is 1 - ♭3 - ♭5
The symbol for a diminished chord is dim, º , or m♭5
The featured practice song for this session is Sound Of Music from The Sound Of Music

Example: Calculating C dim or Cº

Diminished Chords consist of a root, minor third & diminished 5th
Remember that a minor third is equal to 3 half steps or 3 semitones. If we move a minor third upwards from C, we get E♭... (C - C# - D - E♭). If we move another minor 3rd upwards from E♭, we get G♭... (E♭- E - F - G♭)
Chords can be calculated from the major scale of the root note of the chord, therefore 'C' chords can be calculated from the C major Scale which consists of no sharps or flats.
The C scale reads as follows: C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C
Chord formula for a diminished chord = 1 - ♭3 - ♭5
Substitute the notes of the scale into the formula: 1=C, ♭3=♭E, ♭5=♭G
C dim reads as follows: C - ♭E - ♭G

Diminished Chord Table (dim or º)

dim chord	A	B♭	B	C	C#	D	E♭	E	F	F#	G	A♭
Root	A	B♭	B	C	C#	D	E♭	E	F	F#	G	A♭
Minor 3rd	C	D♭	D	E♭	E	F	G♭	G	A♭	A	B♭	C♭(B)
Diminished 5th	E♭	F♭(E)	F	G♭	G	A♭	B♭♭(A)	B♭	C♭(B)	C	D♭	E♭♭(D)

Diminished Guitar Chords - RH / LH

Adim → Cdim C#dim → Edim Fdim → Abdim

↓ Diminished Guitar Chords - Part 1

Left Handers
Lefties: A6/9 - C6/9

↓ Diminished Guitar Chords for Lefties - Part 1

Right Handers

↓ Diminished chords - Part 2

Left Handers
Diminished Lefty Chords - Part 2

↓ Diminished Guitar Chords for Lefties - Part 2

Right Handers

↓ Diminished Chords - Part 3

Left Handers
Diminished Lefty Chords - Part 3

↓ Diminished Guitar Chords for Lefties - Part 3

If you know the basic shape of a diminished chord and know where the root note is located on the guitar fretboard, you can play diminished chords all over the fretboard. This is very handy if you have a favorite shape you like to play. You can play 1 shape and play all 12 keys by just moving up or down the fretboard... very handy!

Back to Guitar Chords Back To Top