D Diminished


A diminished chord has a tense, dark and unstable sound. It's build up out of a ground note, a major third and a diminished fifth.

There's an easy trick to create a diminished chord. The C major chord has the notes C (the root), E (the major third) and the G (the perfect fifth). A diminished C major chord consists of C, Eb and Gb.

Usage

Diminished chords are used in all musical genres, such as pop, rock, jazz, hip-hop, heavy metal and country music. It is common to use a diminished chord as a bridge between two other chords.

Examples

Diminished chords are often used as complementing chords to introduce another chord, like in:

  • George Harrison "My Sweet Lord"
  • Boy Paplo "Losing You"
  • John Mayer "Who Says"
  • Maroon 5 "This Love"

Play

You can use a diminished chord in different ways:

  • Transition Chords: Use them to smoothly move from one chord to another.
  • Harmonic Glue: Diminished chords can connect different harmonies within a progression.
  • Creating Forward Momentum: Their unresolved sound propels the music forward.
  • Line Clichés: Diminished chords can be part of common melodic patterns.
  • Chord Substitution: Replace minor chords with diminished chords for a unique twist.
Beware: A diminished chord can sound very unsetling and dissonant by itself

Quality

translation.t.diminished

Aliases

dim°o

Similar chords

Images

Guitar voicing #0 of the D Diminished chord

Which intervals and notes are in the Ddim chord?

Select a tonic to transpose

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