CHORD REFERENCE

D♯dim7

D♯ – F♯ – A – C1 b3 b5 bb7

The D♯ 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
D♯1F♯b3Ab5Cbb7

D♯dim7 is D#, F#, A, C — the 1, b3, b5 and bb7 above the root D♯.

Piano
ACD♯F♯
Guitar

Ways to play it

A-shape (open strings)
×

Guitar — every position (frets 0–12)

357912eF♯ACD♯BCD♯F♯AGACD♯F♯DD♯F♯ACAACD♯F♯AEF♯ACD♯

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
GCEA5fr
357912AACD♯F♯AEF♯ACD♯CCD♯F♯ACGACD♯F♯

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

In which keys

D♯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 D♯ chords

Triads

D♯MajorD♯mMinorD♯5Power Chord (5)D♯dimDiminishedD♯augAugmentedD♯sus2Suspended 2ndD♯sus4Suspended 4th

Sixths & sevenths

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

Altered dominants

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

Extended & added

D♯add9Added 9thD♯6/96/9D♯9Dominant 9thD♯maj9Major 9thD♯m9Minor 9thD♯11Dominant 11thD♯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.