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