Guitar chords · Diminished
C° chord on guitar (Cdim)
C° (C 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: C, E♭ and G♭, 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 C°
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.
C° has no common A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em.. Play it as the A shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 3 or the E shape at fret 8. A 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. 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.
A shape · fret 3
E shape · fret 8
Notes and formula
What makes C° 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 C° 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.
- CRroot
- E♭♭3essential
- G♭♭5essential
- C, the root
- Other chord tones
C° 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 D♭ or C♯m, the chord it leads into.
Keys
Keys with C°
C° belongs to three keys: D♭ major (vii°), C♯ minor (vii°, spelled B♯°, 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 B♭ 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
C° 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 C° on top and puts another note in the bass: the letter after the slash is the lowest note you play.
- C°/E♭
C° with its ♭3rd, E♭, in the bass: the first inversion.
- C°/G♭
C° with its ♭5th, G♭, in the bass: the second inversion.
Same root
Other chords on C
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.
- C major
- Cm minor
- C7 dominant 7th
- Cmaj7 major 7th
- Cm7 minor 7th
- Csus2 suspended 2nd
- Csus4 suspended 4th
- C6 major 6th
- Cm6 minor 6th
- Cadd9 add 9
- C9 dominant 9th
- Cmaj9 major 9th
- Cm9 minor 9th
- C13 dominant 13th
- Cmaj13 major 13th
- Cm11 minor 11th
- Cm7♭5 half-diminished 7th
- C°7 diminished 7th
- C+ augmented
- C5 power chord
- C7sus4 dominant 7th suspended 4th
- Cm(maj7) minor major 7th
- C6/9 six-nine
- Cm(add9) minor add 9
- C7♯9 dominant 7th sharp 9th
Questions
C°, in short
- What notes are in the C° chord?
- C° (C 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: C, E♭ and G♭, 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 C° on guitar?
- C° has no common A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em.. Play it as the A shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 3 or the E shape at fret 8.
- What key is C° in?
- C° belongs to three keys: D♭ major (vii°), C♯ minor (vii°, spelled B♯°, 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 B♭ minor (ii°).