Guitar chords · Diminished
A♯° chord on guitar (A#dim)
A♯° (A♯ A chord with a minor 3rd and a flattened 5th, written °. It sounds tense, and is the vii° chord of a major key.) has three notes: A♯, C♯ and E, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., ♭3 and ♭5.
Shapes
How to play A♯°
Strum a shape to hear it, or pick it one string at a time. R marks the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7.; the other numbers are the chord tones.
A♯° has no common A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em.. Play it as the A shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 1 or the E shape at fret 6. A A chord or scale fingering with no open strings. Slide it up or down the neck and it changes its root but not its type: a major shape stays major. keeps its fingering anywhere on the neck: slide it up or down and the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., on the lowest played string, names the chord.
A shape · fret 1
E shape · fret 6
Notes and formula
What makes A♯° diminished
A A chord with a minor 3rd and a flattened 5th, written °. It sounds tense, and is the vii° chord of a major key. chord stacks two minor 3rds, so its 5th is a The smallest distance in Western music: one fret on the guitar, such as E to F or F to F♯. flat. It sounds tense and unstable and is usually a passing chord; in a major key it is the vii° chord.
- 1Root: the note the chord is named after. Keep it.
- 3Essential: makes the chord what it is. Never drop it.
- 5Optional: drop it first when you run out of fingers.
The ♭3rd and the ♭5th make A♯° a A chord with a minor 3rd and a flattened 5th, written °. It sounds tense, and is the vii° chord of a major key. chord.
- A♯Rroot
- C♯♭3essential
- E♭5essential
- A♯, the root
- Other chord tones
A♯° usually resolves up a The smallest distance in Western music: one fret on the guitar, such as E to F or F to F♯. to B or Bm, the chord it leads into.
A♯° and B♭° are the same chord with two names: same The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step., same sound. Which one you see depends on the key the song is written in.
Keys
Keys with A♯°
A♯° belongs to three keys: B major (vii°), B minor (vii°, The natural minor scale with its 7th raised a half step, which makes the V chord major and gives it a strong pull home.) and G♯ minor (ii°).
Numerals follow the key's own scale, so III, VI and VII in a minor key are its own major chords. A ♭ or ♯ in front marks a chord from outside the key. How Roman numerals work
Slash chords
A♯° over another bass note
A A chord with a different note in the bass, written after a slash: C/E is a C chord with E as its lowest note. The letter after the slash is the bass. keeps A♯° on top and puts another note in the bass: the letter after the slash is the lowest note you play.
- A♯°/C♯
A♯° with its ♭3rd, C♯, in the bass: the first inversion.
- A♯°/E
A♯° with its ♭5th, E, in the bass: the second inversion.
Same root
Other chords on A♯ / B♭
Change one or two notes and the same The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7. gives a different colour. Compare them by ear.
- B♭ major
- B♭m minor
- B♭7 dominant 7th
- B♭maj7 major 7th
- B♭m7 minor 7th
- B♭sus2 suspended 2nd
- B♭sus4 suspended 4th
- B♭6 major 6th
- B♭m6 minor 6th
- B♭add9 add 9
- B♭9 dominant 9th
- B♭maj9 major 9th
- B♭m9 minor 9th
- B♭13 dominant 13th
- B♭maj13 major 13th
- B♭m11 minor 11th
- A♯m7♭5 half-diminished 7th
- A♯°7 diminished 7th
- B♭+ augmented
- B♭5 power chord
- B♭7sus4 dominant 7th suspended 4th
- B♭m(maj7) minor major 7th
- B♭6/9 six-nine
- B♭m(add9) minor add 9
- B♭7♯9 dominant 7th sharp 9th
Questions
A♯°, in short
- What notes are in the A♯° chord?
- A♯° (A♯ A chord with a minor 3rd and a flattened 5th, written °. It sounds tense, and is the vii° chord of a major key.) has three notes: A♯, C♯ and E, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., ♭3 and ♭5.
- How do you play A♯° on guitar?
- A♯° has no common A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em.. Play it as the A shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 1 or the E shape at fret 6.
- What key is A♯° in?
- A♯° belongs to three keys: B major (vii°), B minor (vii°, The natural minor scale with its 7th raised a half step, which makes the V chord major and gives it a strong pull home.) and G♯ minor (ii°).
- Is A♯° the same as B♭°?
- Yes: same frets, same sound, different name. A♯° is the spelling in B major, B minor and G♯ minor; B♭° only in C♭ major and A♭ minor, which most players write as B major and G♯ minor.