Diminished Chord

Diminished Chord

The diminished chord is a minor triad chord but with the 5th note flattened.

Let’s use the C diminished chord to show this:

C minor

C diminished

Diminished Chord Formula:

The diminished chord formula is 1-b3-b5 (i.e. the Root, b3rd and b5th notes).

You can use MusicWheels™ to discover all the other diminished chords and their notes.

Guitar Diagrams

Diminished Chords - CAGED - Across the Fretboard

The diagrams below show the generic CAGED shapes for diminished chords.

The violet note is the root note of the chord, for example:

– if you wish to play the A dim chord then the violet root note will be the note of A

– if you wish to play the D dim chord then the violet root note will be the note of D and so on.

Keyboard Diagrams