Guitar chords · Diminished
A° chord on guitar (Adim)
A° (A A chord with a minor 3rd and a flattened 5th, written °. It sounds tense, and is the vii° chord of a major key.) has three notes: A, C and E♭, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., ♭3 and ♭5.
Shapes
How to play A°
Strum a shape to hear it, or pick it one string at a time. R marks the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7.; the other numbers are the chord tones.
A° has an A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em., and one A chord or scale fingering with no open strings. Slide it up or down the neck and it changes its root but not its type: a major shape stays major.: the E shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 5. A movable shape keeps its fingering anywhere on the neck: slide it up or down and the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., on the lowest played string, names the chord.
Open (A shape)
E shape · fret 5
Notes and formula
What makes A° diminished
A A chord with a minor 3rd and a flattened 5th, written °. It sounds tense, and is the vii° chord of a major key. chord stacks two minor 3rds, so its 5th is a The smallest distance in Western music: one fret on the guitar, such as E to F or F to F♯. flat. It sounds tense and unstable and is usually a passing chord; in a major key it is the vii° chord.
- 1Root: the note the chord is named after. Keep it.
- 3Essential: makes the chord what it is. Never drop it.
- 5Optional: drop it first when you run out of fingers.
The ♭3rd and the ♭5th make A° a A chord with a minor 3rd and a flattened 5th, written °. It sounds tense, and is the vii° chord of a major key. chord.
- ARroot
- C♭3essential
- E♭♭5essential
- A, the root
- Other chord tones
A° usually resolves up a The smallest distance in Western music: one fret on the guitar, such as E to F or F to F♯. to B♭ or B♭m, the chord it leads into.
Keys
Keys with A°
A° belongs to three keys: B♭ major (vii°), B♭ minor (vii°, The natural minor scale with its 7th raised a half step, which makes the V chord major and gives it a strong pull home.) and G minor (ii°).
Numerals follow the key's own scale, so III, VI and VII in a minor key are its own major chords. A ♭ or ♯ in front marks a chord from outside the key. How Roman numerals work
Slash chords
A° over another bass note
A A chord with a different note in the bass, written after a slash: C/E is a C chord with E as its lowest note. The letter after the slash is the bass. keeps A° on top and puts another note in the bass: the letter after the slash is the lowest note you play.
- A°/C
A° with its ♭3rd, C, in the bass: the first inversion.
- A°/E♭
A° with its ♭5th, E♭, in the bass: the second inversion.
Same root
Other chords on A
Change one or two notes and the same The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7. gives a different colour. Compare them by ear.
- A major
- Am minor
- A7 dominant 7th
- Amaj7 major 7th
- Am7 minor 7th
- Asus2 suspended 2nd
- Asus4 suspended 4th
- A6 major 6th
- Am6 minor 6th
- Aadd9 add 9
- A9 dominant 9th
- Amaj9 major 9th
- Am9 minor 9th
- A13 dominant 13th
- Amaj13 major 13th
- Am11 minor 11th
- Am7♭5 half-diminished 7th
- A°7 diminished 7th
- A+ augmented
- A5 power chord
- A7sus4 dominant 7th suspended 4th
- Am(maj7) minor major 7th
- A6/9 six-nine
- Am(add9) minor add 9
- A7♯9 dominant 7th sharp 9th
Questions
A°, in short
- What notes are in the A° chord?
- A° (A A chord with a minor 3rd and a flattened 5th, written °. It sounds tense, and is the vii° chord of a major key.) has three notes: A, C and E♭, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., ♭3 and ♭5.
- How do you play A° on guitar?
- A° has an A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em., and one A chord or scale fingering with no open strings. Slide it up or down the neck and it changes its root but not its type: a major shape stays major.: the E shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 5.
- What key is A° in?
- A° belongs to three keys: B♭ major (vii°), B♭ minor (vii°, The natural minor scale with its 7th raised a half step, which makes the V chord major and gives it a strong pull home.) and G minor (ii°).