Piano chord
C diminished chord
Cdim is a diminished triad: the root C, a minor 3rd up to E♭ and a diminished 5th up to G♭.
- Symbol
- Cdim
- Notes
- C – E♭ – G♭
Play it yourself
Tap C, E♭ and G♭ on the keys below, in any order.
- C
- E♭
- G♭
Diminished chords sound tense and unstable, as if they want to move on. In a major key the diminished chord is the one built on the seventh note, and it usually leads back home.
Inversions of Cdim
An inversion keeps the same notes but puts a different one at the bottom. Pianists use them to move between chords with less jumping.
- Root position
C – E♭ – G♭
- 1st inversion · Cdim/E♭
E♭ – G♭ – C
- 2nd inversion · Cdim/G♭
G♭ – C – E♭
Keys with Cdim
Cdim occurs naturally in these keys. The Roman numeral shows which step of the scale it is built on.
- vii° · D♭ major
- ii° · B♭ minor