Diminished and half-diminished guitar chords

root, minor third, flat fifth

The fifth is flattened, so the chord is compressed and unstable. The fully diminished seventh divides the octave into four equal parts, which means one shape covers four roots and any of them can lead anywhere. The half-diminished — m7♭5 — is the softer one, and it is the ii of a minor key.

48 chords here, 4 symbols across 12 roots.

Diminished triad

On all 12 roots.

Cdim C♯dim Ddim Ebdim Edim Fdim F♯dim Gdim Abdim Adim Bbdim Bdim

Diminished seventh

On all 12 roots.

Cdim7 C♯dim7 Ddim7 Ebdim7 Edim7 Fdim7 F♯dim7 Gdim7 Abdim7 Adim7 Bbdim7 Bdim7

Half-diminished seventh

On all 12 roots.

Cm7b5 C♯m7b5 Dm7b5 Ebm7b5 Em7b5 Fm7b5 F♯m7b5 Gm7b5 Abm7b5 Am7b5 Bbm7b5 Bm7b5

Minor major seven flat five

On all 12 roots.

CmMaj7b5 C♯mMaj7b5 DmMaj7b5 EbmMaj7b5 EmMaj7b5 FmMaj7b5 F♯mMaj7b5 GmMaj7b5 AbmMaj7b5 AmMaj7b5 BbmMaj7b5 BmMaj7b5

The other families

Major chords Minor chords Dominant seventh chords Altered dominant chords Suspended and power chords Augmented chords Slash chords

Every chord on the site, grouped by root instead, is on the full index. Where the shapes and the theory come from is on the about page.

Midi Settings

Volume

7.5

Play Style

One pass of the pick from the lowest string up, everything left ringing.

Instrument

Note length (ms)

350

Picking speed (ms)

150

Style

Shows each chord the way this style would voice it, and marks which of its alternatives belong to the idiom.

Layout

Left Handed Mode