Guitar, piano and ukulele chords

Bdim chord (B diminished)

The Bdim chord (B diminished) has 3 notes: B, D and F. It is a diminished chord: root, minor third and diminished fifth. It sounds very tense and unstable. It rarely stays: it links two chords and it is the vii° chord of a major key.

How to play it on guitar

An x is a string you don't play and 0 is an open string. The number on the left is the fret where the shape starts.

××
Usual shape
x2343x
6fr ××
Easy version
xx9767

Notes in the chord

NoteInterval
BRoot
DMinor third
FDiminished fifth

Inversions

  • Root position: B – D – F
  • First inversion: D – F – B
  • Second inversion: F – B – D

On piano

The highlighted keys make the chord in root position.

On ukulele

Usual shape
4212
4fr
Higher up the neck · fret 4
4575

Progressions to practise it

Open them in the chord progression player to loop them and write over them.

Frequently asked questions

What notes are in the Bdim chord?

Bdim has 3 notes: B, D and F. It is a diminished chord: root, minor third and diminished fifth.

How do you play Bdim on guitar?

The usual shape is x2343x, read from the low E string to the high E string. If you can't play barre chords yet, start with the easy version: xx9767.

What keys is Bdim in?

Bdim is in C major (vii°) and A minor (ii°).

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