B♭^dim

About the B♭dim chord

The B♭dim chord (diminished) is made up of 3 notes — B♭ is the root, D♭ the minor third and F♭ the diminished fifth. Both the third and the fifth are lowered, stacking two minor thirds for an unstable, edgy sound.

On guitar, B♭dim chords are most often played in open position: x12320. Let the open high E string ring, and leave the low E string out. The diagrams above show 4 playable voicings in all.

Diminished triads are tense and unstable, often used as passing chords between stronger harmonies.

Open B♭dim in the interactive finder →

Common questions

What notes are in the B♭dim chord?

The B♭dim chord contains the notes B♭, D♭ and F♭.

How do you play B♭dim on guitar?

A common open-position shape is x12320. The diagrams above show 4 playable voicings you can strum or hear.

What intervals make up the B♭dim chord?

The B♭dim chord is built from the root (B♭), a minor third (D♭) and a diminished fifth (F♭).

Is B♭dim the same as A♯dim?

Yes — B♭ and A♯ are two names for the same pitch (enharmonic equivalents), so B♭dim and A♯dim are the same chord. MobileChords spells it B♭dim.

More than a chord chart

The chart above is just the start. Open B♭dim in the finder to hear it on guitar and piano and browse every playable voicing side by side. Or switch to Name my chord — tap frets or keys and MobileChords identifies the chord you're playing, inversions and slash chords included.