Piano chord · Diminished triad
B diminished piano chord (Bdim)
B, D and F, played together. Root position is highlighted on the keyboard below — press play to hear it.
Notes in Bdim: B, D and F
| Note | Interval from the root | Key around middle C |
|---|---|---|
| B | Root | B4 · white key |
| D | Minor 3rd | D5 · white key |
| F | Diminished 5th | F5 · white key |
- Chord symbol: Bdim — B diminished
- Formula: R · b3 · b5 (0 · 3 · 6 semitones from the root)
- Right hand fingering: 1-3-5 — thumb, middle finger and little finger
- Left hand fingering: 5-3-1, little finger on the root
How Bdim works
B diminished is the vii° chord of C major — two minor thirds stacked, B–D–F, all white keys. It is the top three notes of G7, which is why it pulls so hard towards C, and it is the chord that makes the key of C complete.
Bdim inversions
An inversion keeps the same notes and changes which one is at the bottom. That matters because it lets you move between chords without jumping: the closer the notes of the next chord are to the ones your hand is already holding, the smoother it sounds and the easier it is to play. Root position first, then two inversions.
Root position
B–D–F — the root, B, is at the bottom.
1st inversion — D in the bass
D–F–B — the same three notes, reordered so D is lowest.
2nd inversion — F in the bass
F–B–D — the same three notes, reordered so F is lowest.
Common mistakes on Bdim
- Playing F♯, which makes B minor. The diminished fifth (F natural) is the whole sound.
- Leaving it hanging. A diminished chord is a passing chord: follow it with C.
Piano chord data last updated . Every diagram here, in the printable PDF and in the chart image comes from one dataset, so the paper and the screen cannot disagree.