D#dim D# diminished chord
- Notes
- D# F# A
- Formula
- 1 b3 b5
- Semitones
- 0 3 6 above the root
- Also written
- Ebdim (Eb Gb Bbb)
- Other symbols
- D#°, D#m(b5)
D# to F# is a minor third (3 semitones), F# to A is a minor third (3 semitones). Two minor thirds stacked, so D# to A is a tritone (6 semitones) instead of a perfect fifth. The four-note D#dim7 and D#m7b5 grow from it by adding a note on top.
D#dim on the piano
Root position from D#4: D#4, F#4, A4. Middle C is C4.
D#dim on the guitar
Standard tuning (E A D G B E). Strings run low E on the left to high e on the right, frets downwards; × is a muted string, ○ an open string, and each dot shows the note it sounds, with the root in blue-green. Every shape below has D# as its lowest note.
x 6 7 8 7 x (low E to high e)
Sounds D#3 A3 D#4 F#4
11 12 13 11 x x (low E to high e)
Sounds D#3 A3 D#4 F#4
The E-shape and A-shape grips are movable: an E-shape chord's root is the note under your first finger on the low E string, an A-shape chord's root is the note on the A string. Slide the same grip up or down to play diminished chords on other roots.
D#dim on the ukulele
Standard ukulele tuning is G C E A, drawn with the G string on the left and frets downwards, as ukulele chord charts show it. The G string is tuned higher than the C string (G4 above middle C, a fifth over C4), so the lowest note you hear is usually on the C or E string, not on the G string, and a shape can sound as an inversion even when its root is on the G string. All four strings are strummed, so every string plays a chord tone; the root is in blue-green.
2320 (G C E A)
Sounds A4 D#4 F#4 A4
8650 (G C E A)
Sounds D#5 F#4 A4 A4
Lowest note F#4, so the chord finder reads it as D#dim/F# (first inversion).
Inversions of D#dim
An inversion puts a note other than the root in the bass. The name is what semicord's chord finder calls those notes played bottom to top; a slash name like C/E means a C chord with E in the bass.
| Position | Notes, bass first | Named | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root position | D# F# A | D#dim | |
| 1st inversion | F# A D# | D#dim/F# | |
| 2nd inversion | A D# F# | D#dim/A |
Where D#dim fits
D#dim is vii° in E major, ii° in C# minor, vii° in E minor. Its root D# is the leading tone of E: a half step below the tonic, so the chord usually moves up to it.