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