Edim Chord on Guitar

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Sus chords [3rd suspended and replaced by a 4th or 2nd]

Csus4Csus2C7sus4C7sus4(9)C7sus4(b9)C7sus4(13)

Diminished and Half-Diminished chords [minor chords with diminished 5th (b5) ]

Cdim7Cdim7(b13)

Augmented chords [major chords with augmented 5th (#5) ]

Caug

Slash Chords [chords with a bassnote different from the root]

C/DC/EC/FC/GC/BbC/BCm/EbCm/FCm/GCm/BbC7/EC7/GC7/BbCmaj7/BCm7/GCm7(b5)/Gb

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E “diminished”. The abbreviation dim or dim7 (respectively ° or °7) stands for a diminshed or diminished 7th chord. To get a diminished chord you can take a minor chord and lower the 5th by a half step (1 fret) to a diminished 5th (b5, „flat 5“). Alternatively you can stack two minor thirds on top of the root: e.g. root E (1), minor 3rd G (m3) and another minor 3rd on top of that is Bb (b5).

In practise the diminished chord is usually played with a diminished 7th. So if a chord is just named dim, you can read it as dim7. The diminished 7th (dim7) again is a minor 3rd away from the b5. Consequently a Edim is normally played with the 4 chords:
E (1), G (m3), Bb (b5) and Db (dim7).
The diminished 7th Db is effectively the same tone as the 6th C#.

Since the dim7 chord is based on just minor 3rds, it is completely symmetric. As a result the four chords Edim7, Gdim7, Bbdim7 and C#dim7 have exactly the same chord tones. You can normally play all of them where only one of them is written.

The diminished chord mostly occurs as passing chord between two chords a whole-step away, e.g. D#maj7 Edim7 Fm7 F#dim7 Gm7 C7(b9) Fm7 Bb13 D#6/9 …

In the blues form (especially the modified jazz blues) a diminished chord is often added a half-step above the IV7 chord. In a blues in F:
| F7   | Bb7 Bdim7 | F7   |     |
| Bb7 | Bdim7     | F7   |     | …

must know

You should memorize these chords, if you are using this chord type frequently.

E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing 1-b5-dim7-m3
E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing 1-b5-dim7-m3
E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing 1-dim7-m3-b5

open chords

At least one string is ringing without a finger touching it. We call this an open string and consequently that chord an open chord. You can't transpose these chord shapes to a higher key, unless you're using a capodaster or mute the open string or the open string then represents just a different chord tone.

E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing 1-1-b5-dim7-m3
E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing 1-m3-dim7-1-b5
E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing 1-b5-1-m3-dim7
E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing 1-dim7-m3-b5-1

moveable

You can transpose these chord shapes to any different key just by moving the whole chord shape along the guitar fretboard until the squared spot represents the new root.

E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing b5-1-m3-dim7
E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing 1-b5-dim7-m3
E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing dim7-m3-b5-1
E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing m3-dim7-1-b5
E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing 1-b5-dim7-m3
E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing 1-dim7-m3-b5
E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing b5-1-m3-dim7
E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing m3-dim7-1-b5
E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing 1-dim7-m3-b5
E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing dim7-m3-b5-1

capodaster

The pleasant sound and sometimes easier playability of an open chord can be put into practice by mounting a capodaster on the indicated fret. Of course that may goe along with the disadvantage of not being able to use the frets lower than the capo anymore.

E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing 1-b5-1-m3-dim7
E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing 1-dim7-m3-b5-1
E
Edim Chord on Guitar, voicing 1-1-b5-dim7-m3
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