C Diminished Chord

Symbol: Cdim

Diagrams

Staff Notation

Staff Notation

Piano Keyboard

Cdim chord – keys C, Eb, Gb highlightedPiano keyboard with keys C, Eb, Gb highlighted. C is the root note.CEbGb
Cdim chord – keys C, Eb, Gb highlightedPiano keyboard with keys C, Eb, Gb highlighted. C is the root note.CEbGb

Guitar

Guitar chord diagram for Cdim (3fr)Guitar chord voicing with notes C, Gb, C, Eb.Cdim (3fr)3✕234✕

Intervals

NoteIntervalSemitones
CP10
Ebm33
Gbd56

Related Chords (C Root)

C Cm Caug Csus2 Csus4 C5 C7 Cmaj7 Cm7 CmMaj7 Cdim7 Cm7b5

Diminished in All Keys

Cdim Dbdim Ddim Ebdim Edim Fdim F#dim Gdim Abdim Adim Bbdim Bdim

Scales Containing Cdim

C Blues C Locrian Db Major Db Harmonic Minor Db Melodic Minor Db Ionian Eb Melodic Minor Eb Dorian E Harmonic Minor F Phrygian F# Lydian G Harmonic Minor

About the C Diminished Chord

The C Diminished chord is built from the notes C, Eb, Gb. These notes are derived by stacking intervals above the root note C, following the interval pattern that defines every Diminished chord. Understanding how a chord is constructed from intervals is one of the most valuable skills in music theory, because it allows you to build the chord in any key and recognize it in any context.

You can use this chord in a variety of musical contexts. Try exploring the scales that contain these notes to discover which keys this chord naturally belongs to. Each scale listed above shares all the notes of this chord, making it a diatonic chord within that key. Understanding these relationships helps with songwriting, improvisation, and arranging.

Try Cdim in the Chord Identifier →