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