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Dim & aug familyvii° in D♭ major

C diminished chord

Cdim

C diminished

Piano root position

  • Root
  • ♭3
  • ♭5

Guitar standard tuning

Fret 3

No barre: each note has its own finger.

E×ADGBe×34567CG♭CE♭

Finger: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little

Notation treble clef

𝄞♭♭

Intervals

12 semitones
  1. C1
  2. ♭2
  3. 2
  4. E♭♭3
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. G♭♭5
  8. 5
  9. ♯5
  10. 6
  11. ♭7
  12. 7
  • C Root
  • E♭ Minor 3rd
  • G♭ Diminished 5th

About this chord

What is a C diminished chord?

Cdim is built from 3 notes: C (the root), E♭ (the ♭3), G♭ (the ♭5). Two minor thirds: tight, tense and unstable.

Notes
C · E♭ · G♭
Formula
1 · ♭3 · ♭5
Also written
C° · Co
Found in
vii° in D♭ major · ii° in B♭ minor · vii° in C♯ harmonic minor

Scales that contain Cdim

Neighbours

Chords close to Cdim

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All 348 chords

Every chord type on every root, each with its own page.

C

D♭

D

E♭

E

F

G♭

G

A♭

A

B♭

B