A Diminished Chord on Piano
Also known as:
Adim , Ao
Here you can learn how to play A Diminished Chord on the Piano. The A Diminished Chord has a diminished quality which is made by stacking minor Third intervals creating a minor Third, a diminished (lowered or flattened) Fifth that together produce a dark, tense sound. A Diminished Chord contains the notes A, C, E♭. The A Diminished Chord on Piano is a Triad type chord which means it consists of only three notes, the Root A, the Third C, and the Fifth E♭.
Below you will find the notes, notation, degrees and intervals of the A Diminished Chord along with any related scales and chords. In the Piano view you can display the notes of the A Diminished Chord mapped out onto the Piano keyboard and switch between the notes, degrees, intervals. These are shown across two octaves to help visualise the different inversions of the chord.
Notes
A, C, E♭
Notation
Degrees
| Note | Number | Name |
|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | Tonic |
| C | ♭3 | Mediant |
| E♭ | ♭5 | Dominant |
Intervals
| Notes | Semitones | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| A > A | 0 | Perfect Unison (P1) |
| A > C | 3 | minor 3rd (m3) |
| A > E♭ | 6 | Diminished 5th (d5 or Tritone) |
Music Theory
Want to dig deeper and learn about the chord degrees and intervals, or see related scales and chords?
Learn more about A Diminished Chord
If you want to learn what chords are and much more, check out our free Fundamentals of Music Theory course. If you already know some of the basics, you can jump straight into the chords lesson.
Scales related to A Diminished Chord
Same Spellings
Scales that include all of the notes of the A Diminished Chord.
viio Chord of B♭ Major Scale
iio Chord of G Natural Minor Scale
viio Chord of B♭ Harmonic Minor Scale
iio Chord of G Harmonic Minor Scale
viio Chord of B♭ Melodic Minor Scale
vio Chord of C Melodic Minor Scale
vi Chord of C Major Blues Scale
i Chord of A Minor Blues Scale
viio Chord of B♭ Ionian Mode
vio Chord of C Dorian Mode
vo Chord of D Phrygian Mode
♯ivo Chord of E♭ Lydian Mode
iiio Chord of F Mixolydian Mode
iio Chord of G Aeolian Mode
io Chord of A Locrian Mode
vo Chord of D Phrygian Dominant Mode
iiio Chord of F Phrygian Dominant Mode
Different Spellings
Scales that include different spellings of all the notes of the A Diminished Chord.
