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