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A Diminished Chord on Guitar

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Open. Mute the high E string with the underside of your fingers.

A diminished, written Adim, is a diminished chord: a minor third and a flat fifth, a tense sound that leads somewhere else. The open shape uses 3 fingers on 4 strings.

How to play Adim, finger by finger

  1. Put your index finger on string 4 at the 1st fret.
  2. Put your middle finger on string 2 at the 1st fret.
  3. Put your ring finger on string 3 at the 2nd fret.
  4. Strum strings 5 to 2 only.

More ways to play Adim

5fr2341
Root on string 6 from fret 5
2fr4213
Movable, fret 2 from fret 2
3fr3142
Movable, fret 3 from fret 3
4fr421
Open, fret 4 from fret 4
7fr213
Movable, fret 7 from fret 7
10fr4123
Movable, fret 10 from fret 10
11fr2341
Movable, fret 11 from fret 11
12fr1243
Movable, fret 12 from fret 12

Notes in A diminished

NoteIntervalRole
A1root
C♭3minor third
E♭♭5flat fifth

Formula: 1 – ♭3 – ♭5

Questions about Adim

What notes are in Adim?

A, C and E♭. Those are the 1, ♭3, ♭5 of the chord, counted from A.

Which strings do I strum for Adim?

Start on string 5 and strum down to string 1, and leave the strings marked with an X silent.

What chord does Adim lead to?

Most often B♭. The root of Adim sits a half step below B♭, so it leads up into B♭.

Often played with Adim

Other diminished chords