Intervals
Diminished Sixth
6d · 7 semitones
A sixth narrowed to the width of a perfect fifth, met only in chromatic analysis.
Also written d6 · 6d
Diminished Sixth
6d · 7 semitones
On the piano, from every note
| From | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| C | C – Abb | |
| C# | C# – Ab | |
| D | D – Bbb | |
| Eb | Eb – Cbb | |
| E | E – Cb | |
| F | F – Dbb | |
| F# | F# – Db | |
| G | G – Ebb | |
| Ab | Ab – Fbb | |
| A | A – Fb | |
| Bb | Bb – Gbb | |
| B | B – Gb |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Read on: number and quality · inversion · compound intervals · consonance and dissonance
Every sixth
A sixth can take these qualities, one semitone apart; choose one to see the upper note move and hear the pair.
Understanding Diminished Sixth
Names and symbols
Diminished Sixth is written d6, 6d: the letter is the quality, the number the size. Chord formulas on this site write the number first, as tonal does.
Seconds, thirds, sixths and sevenths come in major and minor, a semitone apart, and can be widened to augmented or narrowed to diminished. Inverting one swaps the quality: a major third becomes a minor sixth, a minor second a major seventh.
How it sounds
A diminished sixth spans 7 semitones: C – Abb. The ear hears a perfect fifth; the spelling insists on a sixth because both notes are functioning that far apart in the harmony.
Where it comes from
It is the inversion of the augmented third and, like it, appears in heavily chromatic writing where accidentals accumulate. Most musicians meet it on the page rather than by ear.
Learn this properly
Chapter 5: IntervalsCommon questions
- How many semitones is a Diminished Sixth?
- Seven — C – Abb — the same distance as a perfect fifth. Count the semitones of any interval with the interval calculator.
- Is a diminished sixth the same as a perfect fifth?
- In sound, yes. In notation and function, no: the letter names are a sixth apart.
- What is its inversion?
- The Augmented Third.
- How do I play Diminished Sixth?
- On guitar the handiest shape is Next string, B 1 · E 3, read as string and fret; the instrument panel draws it from any starting note with the other shapes. On the piano count 7 semitones up from any key, black keys included. Play the notes together for the harmonic form, one after the other for the melodic form.
- What is the inversion of Diminished Sixth?
- The inversion of Diminished Sixth is the Augmented Third: put the lower note an octave higher and the distance that remains is the inversion. The two always add up to an octave, 7 semitones and 5 semitones, and swap their qualities between major and minor, or keep perfect as perfect.