What Is a Diminished Chord?

A diminished chord is created lowering the third and fifth intervals a half-step on a major chord. The root note and two major third intervals make up major chords, whereas diminished chords have the same root note but two minor thirds. The diminished seventh chord is a variant of the diminished chord that adds a minor third to the progression.

If individual notes determine the main melody of a piece of music, chords determine the backing harmony, which is in turn determined the piece’s key, or interval structure. The C major scale is composed of the following notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and the octave of C. For example, a song in the key of C with no sharps or flats is based on the C major scale: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and the octave of C. The song has an upbeat tone thanks to this major scale. Certain chords can be diminished or lowered to change the tone of a song without having to rewrite it in a different key.

The root interval, the third interval, and the fifth interval are all played at the same time to form a major triad. The chord’s name is its root note; for example, the C chord’s root note is always C. The number of the note in relation to the root is the interval of a scale; in this case, E is the third interval of the C major scale. Two minor third intervals are used to create the diminished chord. The notes C, E flat, and G flat/F sharp make up a diminished C chord, which is written as Cdim in music notation.

Minor thirds are always three half-steps away from the previous note, and they’re called minor thirds because they’re used to make minor scales like C to E flat. Major thirds, on the other hand, are made up of four half-steps, such as from C to E. Minor chords have a darker tone to them, but they are still consonant. Because of the relationship between the root and octave, a diminished chord sounds dissonant: two notes played a half-step apart will sound dissonant.

A diminished seventh chord is a type of diminished chord that produces a full, rich sound. It extends the progression a minor third interval. The notes C, E flat, F sharp, and A make up a diminished seventh in a C chord. The octave would be the next note if another minor third was added; the octave has a tendency to override other tones in a chord.

The purpose of a diminished triad, which has two minor third intervals, is to provide a minor and dissonant sound. The sound quality of a perfect fifth, such as C to G, is balanced. By reducing the note’s volume, the sound’s overall balance is disrupted.