Do you know which notes are in the A flat diminished chord? In this article, you will learn three different ways to play this chord on the piano.
What Notes Make up the A Flat Diminished Chord?
The symbol of the A flat diminished chord is Abdim.
The notes of the Abdim chord are Ab – B – D.
The Abdim chord is a triad because it has three notes: root (Ab), minor third (B), and diminished fifth (D).
How to Play the A Flat Diminished Chord on the Piano?
The image below shows how to play the notes of the Ab diminished chord on the piano in root position:
You can see that the first note from the left is Ab (the root), the second note is B (the minor third), and the third note is D (the diminished fifth).
What is the Lowest Note in the Ab diminished Chord?
Assuming that you are playing the Abdim chord in root position the lowest note is Ab.
How Can You Remember the Abdim Chord?
Here is how to remember the notes of the Ab diminished chord:
- Start from the first note of the chord (the root) that for the Ab diminished chord is Ab.
- To find the second note of the chord calculate a minor third from the root (B).
- Then to find the third note of the chord calculate the diminished fifth from the root (D).
This applies if you are playing the Ab diminished chord in root position.
What is the 1st Inversion of the A Flat Diminished Chord?
The 1st inversion of the Abdim chord starts with the note B.
Below you can see how to play the notes of the Ab diminished chord on the piano in the first inversion:
In the 1st inversion, you shift the root of the Abdim chord (Ab) one octave higher compared to the root position.
The notes of the Abdim chord in the 1st inversion are B – D – Ab.
How Do You Play the 2nd Inversion of the A Flat Diminished Chord?
The 2nd inversion of the Abdim chord starts with the note D.
Below you can see how to play the notes of the second inversion of the Ab diminished chord on the piano:
In the 2nd inversion, you also shift the third of the Abdim chord (B) up one octave.
The notes of the 2nd inversion of the Abdim chord are D – Ab – B.
Given that the Abdim chord is a triad (it consists of three notes) there is no 3rd inversion because it would be the same as the root position.
What Are Other Ab Chords?
The following articles show you how to play other Ab chords: