Piano chord
D diminished chord
Ddim is a diminished triad: the root D, a minor 3rd up to F and a diminished 5th up to A♭.
- Symbol
- Ddim
- Notes
- D – F – A♭
Play it yourself
Tap D, F and A♭ on the keys below, in any order.
- D
- F
- A♭
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 Ddim
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
D – F – A♭
- 1st inversion · Ddim/F
F – A♭ – D
- 2nd inversion · Ddim/A♭
A♭ – D – F
Keys with Ddim
Ddim occurs naturally in these keys. The Roman numeral shows which step of the scale it is built on.