Piano chord
C♯ diminished chord
C♯dim is a diminished triad: the root C♯, a minor 3rd up to E and a diminished 5th up to G.
- Symbol
- C♯dim
- 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 C♯dim
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 · C♯dim/E
E – G – C♯
- 2nd inversion · C♯dim/G
G – C♯ – E
Keys with C♯dim
C♯dim occurs naturally in these keys. The Roman numeral shows which step of the scale it is built on.