CHORD REFERENCE

C♯dim7

C♯ – E – G – B♭1 b3 b5 bb7

The C♯ Diminished 7th chord and everything around it — the notes and how they are built, the shape on piano and guitar, the sound, and the keys it belongs to.

Notes
C♯1Eb3Gb5B♭bb7

C♯dim7 is C#, E, G, Bb — the 1, b3, b5 and bb7 above the root C♯.

Piano
EGC♯B♭
Guitar

Ways to play it

A-shape barre — 1st fret
×

Guitar — every position (frets 0–12)

357912eEGB♭C♯EBC♯EGB♭GGB♭C♯EGDEGB♭C♯AB♭C♯EGEEGB♭C♯E

Root notes are red. The shapes above are movable — an E-shape has its root on the low E string, an A-shape on the A string. any group of these notes on the neck sounds the chord.

Ukulele (standard G–C–E–A)

Movable shape
GCEA3fr
357912AB♭C♯EGEEGB♭C♯ECC♯EGB♭GGB♭C♯EG

The shape above is movable up the neck. Every position of the chord tones on the ukulele neck — any group that sounds only C#, E, G, Bb plays the chord.

In which keys

C♯dim7 is a colour chord — it is not diatonic to a plain major or minor key, which is what gives it its character. It shows up as a borrowed chord, an altered dominant, or a passing sound.

Other C♯ chords

Triads

C♯MajorC♯mMinorC♯5Power Chord (5)C♯dimDiminishedC♯augAugmentedC♯sus2Suspended 2ndC♯sus4Suspended 4th

Sixths & sevenths

C♯6Major 6thC♯m6Minor 6thC♯7Dominant 7thC♯maj7Major 7thC♯m7Minor 7thC♯m(maj7)Minor–Major 7thC♯m7♭5Half-Diminished (m7♭5)C♯7sus47sus4

Altered dominants

C♯7♭57♭5C♯7♯57♯5 (Augmented 7th)C♯7♭97♭9C♯7♯97♯9 (Hendrix Chord)

Extended & added

C♯add9Added 9thC♯6/96/9C♯9Dominant 9thC♯maj9Major 9thC♯m9Minor 9thC♯11Dominant 11thC♯13Dominant 13th
Diminished 7th on another root
CC♯DD♯EFF♯GG♯AB♭A♯B
Keep exploring

Work out the chords of a whole key with the Scale & Chord Finder, name a chord from its notes with the Chord Identifier, or browse every chord tool. The theory behind how chords are built is in the free Cloud Atelier music guides.