How to Play the C diminished Chord on the Piano

Do you know which notes are in the C diminished chord? This article will show you three ways to play this chord.

Table of Contents

What Notes Make up the C diminished Chord?

The symbol for the C diminished chord is Cdim.

The notes of the Cdim chord are C – Eb – Gb.

The Cdim chord is a triad because it has three notes: root (C), minor third (Eb), and diminished fifth (Gb).

How Do You Play the C diminished Chord on the Piano?

The picture below shows how to play the notes of the C diminished chord on the piano in root position:

You can see that the first note from the left is C (the root), the second note is Eb (the minor third), and the third note is Gb (the diminished fifth).

What is the Root Note of the C diminished Chord?

Assuming that you are playing the Cdim chord in root position the root note is C.

How to Memorize the Cdim Chord?

Here is how to remember the notes of the C diminished chord:

Start from the first note of the chord (the root) that for the C diminished chord is C.
To find the second note of the chord calculate a minor third from the root (Eb).
Then to find the third note of the chord calculate the diminished fifth from the root (Gb).

This applies if you are playing the C diminished chord in root position.

What is the 1st Inversion of the C diminished Chord?

The 1st inversion of the Cdim chord starts with the note Eb.

Below you can see how to play the notes of the C diminished chord on the piano in the first inversion:

First inversion for the C diminished chord on the piano

In the 1st inversion, you shift the root of the Cdim chord (C) up one octave compared to the root position.

The notes of the Cdim chord in the 1st inversion are Eb – Gb – C.

How Do You Make the 2nd Chord Inversion for Cdim?

The 2nd inversion of the Cdim chord starts with the note Gb.

Here you can see the notes of the second inversion of the C diminished chord on the piano:

How to play the C diminished chord on the piano in second inversion

In the 2nd inversion, you also shift the third of the Cdim chord (Eb) up one octave.

The notes of the 2nd inversion of the Cdim chord are Gb – C – Eb.

Given that the Cdim 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 C Chords?

The following articles show you how to play other C chords: