A diminished
How to play Adim — Diminished
Adim (Diminished)A · C · E♭
Guitar samples: Acoustic guitar — University of Iowa (via tonejs-instruments, CC-BY 3.0)
A diminished — notes and structure
The Adim chord stacks minor thirds up to the flattened fifth — tense and unstable, wanting to resolve.
The Adim diminished consists of the notes A, C, E♭. Its interval structure is R–3–5 — the root, then each chord tone stacked above it. This is the same chord you see in the interactive finder above, drawn on the guitar fretboard with the root circled and every chord tone labelled.
Adim stacks a minor third (C) and a diminished fifth (E♭) above the root A.
The finder shows 2 ways to play Adim — an open-position shape reaching up to the 10th fret. 1 of them use a barre.
What key is Adim in?
Every note of Adim belongs to the scales below, so the chord sounds at home in each of these keys — the roman numeral is the degree it sits on.
- B♭ major — the vii° chord
- G minor — the ii° chord
Chords that go with Adim
In B♭ major, the chords built on the first, fourth and fifth degrees carry most songs — put Adim next to these:
Frequently asked questions
- What notes are in the A diminished chord?
- The Adim chord contains the notes A, C, E♭. It stacks minor thirds up to the flattened fifth — tense and unstable, wanting to resolve.
- How many ways can you play Adim on guitar?
- 2 voicings are shown on this page — from open position up the neck — each with its own fingering diagram and audio.
- Is Adim a hard chord to play?
- Some voicings use a barre, which takes practice, but the chord is very playable once that shape is comfortable.
- What key does Adim belong to?
- Adim fits B♭ major (where it is the vii° chord), G minor (where it is the ii° chord) — every note of the chord is in those scales.