The D flat diminished chord (Db dim or Db°) contains the notes Db, Fb and Abb. It is produced by taking the 1st, flat 3rd and flat 5th notes of the D flat Major scale.
A diminished often appears as Db dim or Db°.
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 flat diminished chord contains a tritone between the notes Db and Abb.
Even though the D flat diminished chord sounds dissonant on its own, it can sound beautiful when played in the right context. Pairing the Db diminished chord with the D Major chord, for example, creates a sense of tension and release, which works well. A good exercise is to switch between the Db diminished chord and the D Major chord and hear for yourself how this sounds
10 Ways To Play The D Flat Diminished Chord
If you’ve come to this page just to view some chord diagrams for D flat diminished, here they are.
Some Quick Db Diminished Chord Theory
- The D flat diminished chord contains the notes Db, Fb and Abb.
- The Db diminished chord is produced by taking the 1 (root), b3 and b5 of the Db Major scale.
- The Db 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).
- Db diminished resolves naturally to the D chord.
- Db diminished can be written as Db dim or Db°.
- The D flat locrian scale can be used when soloing over the Db diminished chord.
Further Reading
