Chords
F Diminished
F · Ab · Cb
The diminished triad — a minor third stacked on a minor third. Unstable by construction.
Also written F° · Fo
F Diminished
F · Ab · Cb
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | F3 · Ab3 · Cb3 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
F Diminished (Fdim) contains the notes F · Ab · Cb, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built
Inversions
An inversion of F Diminished puts a chord tone other than F in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales F Diminished belongs to.
In which keys
F Diminished is diatonic to 5 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
Scales that contain it
F Diminished fits inside these scales, each built on F.
- F Minor BluesF · Ab · Bb · Cb · C · Eb
- F LocrianF · Gb · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb
- F AlteredF · Gb · G# · A · B · Db · Eb
- F Half-Whole DiminishedF · Gb · Ab · A · B · C · D · Eb
- F Locrian PentatonicF · Ab · Bb · Cb · Eb
- F Locrian #2F · G · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb
- F Locrian 6F · Gb · Ab · Bb · Cb · D · Eb
- F Dorian #4F · G · Ab · B · C · D · Eb
Understanding the F Diminished chord
Names and symbols
Fdim is the chord symbol for F Diminished; it is also written F°, Fo.
dim7 and °7 both mean the diminished seventh. A bare dim or ° on a chart sometimes means the triad and sometimes this four-note chord, so the context decides.
How it is built
On F it is F · Ab · Cb: 1P · 3m · 5d. The fifth is diminished rather than perfect, which removes the chord's acoustic anchor and leaves it leaning.
How it is used
It is the chord built on the seventh degree of a major scale, and it usually behaves like a dominant with the root missing: it resolves up a semitone to the tonic. As a passing chord between two diatonic chords it smooths a bass line without changing the harmony underneath.
Learn this properly
Chapter 10: Chords: Triads and SeventhsCommon questions
- What notes are in Fdim?
- Fdim contains F · Ab · Cb. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.
- How do you build a diminished chord?
- Stack two minor thirds: root, minor third, diminished fifth.
- Why does a diminished chord sound unstable?
- Its fifth is diminished rather than perfect, so the chord lacks the strong 3:2 consonance that anchors major and minor triads.
- What notes are in the F Diminished chord?
- The F Diminished chord contains the notes F · Ab · Cb: the root F with the intervals 1P, 3m, 5d stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally F, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the F Diminished chord?
- Measured from F, the F Diminished chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3m, 5d. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.