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