The D diminished chord (D dim or D°) contains the notes D, F and Ab. It is produced by taking the 1st, flat 3rd and flat 5th notes of the D Major scale.
A diminished often appears as D dim or D°.
The diminished chord played by itself has a dissonant sound. This is largely due to the existence of the tritone interval, which is otherwise known as the devil’s interval. The D diminished chord contains a tritone between the notes D and Ab.
Even though the D diminished chord sounds dissonant on its own, it can sound beautiful when played in the right context. Pairing the D diminished chord with the E flat Major chord, for example, creates a sense of tension and release, which works well. A good exercise is to switch between the D diminished chord and the Eb Major chord and hear for yourself how this sounds
10 Ways To Play The D Diminished Chord
If you’ve come to this page just to view some chord diagrams for D diminished, here they are.
Some Quick D Diminished Chord Theory
- The D diminished chord contains the notes D, F and Ab.
- The D diminished chord is produced by taking the 1 (root), b3 and b5 of the D Major scale.
- The D diminished chord (just like all diminished chords) contains the following intervals (starting from the root note): minor 3rd, minor 3rd, tritone (which leads back to the root note).
- D diminished resolves naturally to the Eb chord.
- D diminished can be written as D dim or D°.
- The D locrian scale can be used when soloing over the D diminished chord.
Further Reading
