As the leading-tone chordE♭ major
- vii°D°
- IE♭
Every note pulls inward into E♭ by a semitone or a tone. This is the chord's primary function.
D Diminished Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The D Diminished chord is built on the root note D. Its notes are D, F and A♭.
Transpose
Quality
Short answer
Diminished chords sound unstable and suspenseful. Two stacked minor thirds create a tight, dissonant tension that composers use for passing chords, horror scores and dramatic turnarounds.
- Notes
- D · F · A♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · ♭5
- Semitones
- 0 · 3 · 6
- Note
- D
- Quality
- Diminished
- Symbol
- D°
D Diminished on piano
3 notesView:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play D Diminished on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on D, middle finger on F and little finger on A♭. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard A♭ is a black key and D and F are white. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- D1
- F♭3
- A♭♭5
D Diminished on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, D Diminished is commonly played with the voicing shown above. The fretted notes sit between frets 5 and 7. Don't play strings 6 and 1.
D · F · A♭
Try D Diminished on the virtual piano
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D Diminished chord notes
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | D | |
| ♭3 | Minor third | 3 | F | |
| ♭5 | Diminished fifth | 6 | A♭(Ab) |
How to use the D Diminished chord
The D Diminished chord is built from a root, a minor third and a diminished fifth. Start at the root D and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: D, F and A♭. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.
Diminished chords are passing tools in classical, jazz, bluegrass and film music. They're often used as vii° leading to the tonic or as chromatic passing chords between diatonic chords.
In major keys D° is the vii° in E♭ major; in minor keys it's the ii° in C minor.
How D Diminished differs from similar chords
D° is Dm with the fifth lowered by a half step, and that flat fifth is the whole difference. Add a minor seventh and you get Dm7♭5, add a diminished seventh and you get the fully symmetrical D°7. On its own it is the leading-tone chord (vii°) of the major key a half step up.
Where D Diminished is used
A diminished chord is a tension chord. It works as the leading-tone chord of a key, and as a dominant seventh with its root left out.
Scales that contain D°
These scales include D° as one of their diatonic chords. Use them to find melodies and improvisation ideas that fit perfectly.
C Natural Minor
C · D · E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B♭
C Harmonic Minor
C · D · E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B
C Aeolian
C · D · E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B♭
C Harmonic Major
C · D · E · F · G · A♭ · B
C Hindu
C · D · E · F · G · A♭ · B♭
C Arabian
C · D · E · F · G♭ · A♭ · B♭
D Locrian
D · E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B♭ · C
D Altered
D · E♭ · F · G♭ · A♭ · B♭ · C
E♭ Major
E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B♭ · C · D
E♭ Harmonic Minor
E♭ · F · G♭ · A♭ · B♭ · C♭ · D
E♭ Melodic Minor
E♭ · F · G♭ · A♭ · B♭ · C · D
E♭ Harmonic Major
E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B♭ · C♭ · D
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the D Diminished chord?
- The D Diminished chord contains D, F and A♭ (D, F and Ab in plain text).
- Is the D Diminished chord major or minor?
- D Diminished is a diminished chord. Diminished chords sound unstable and suspenseful. Two stacked minor thirds create a tight, dissonant tension that composers use for passing chords, horror scores and dramatic turnarounds.
- What key is the D Diminished chord in?
- In major keys D° is the vii° in E♭ major; in minor keys it's the ii° in C minor.
- How do you play D Diminished on piano?
- Place your fingers on D, F and A♭ and play them together. The root usually goes to the little finger of the left hand, the upper notes to the right. On the keyboard A♭ is a black key and D and F are white.
- How do you play D Diminished on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. The fretted notes sit between frets 5 and 7. Don't play strings 6 and 1.
- What chords work well with D Diminished?
- D Diminished pairs naturally with the chords in the related section: a perfect fifth up or down, the relative major or minor, and anything sharing two notes with it.