Guitar chords · Diminished
B° chord on guitar (Bdim)
B° (B 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: B, D and F, 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 B°
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.
B° 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. 2 or the E shape at fret 7. 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 2
E shape · fret 7
Notes and formula
What makes B° 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 B° 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.
- BRroot
- D♭3essential
- F♭5essential
- B, the root
- Other chord tones
B° 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 C or Cm, the chord it leads into.
Keys
Keys with B°
B° belongs to three keys: C major (vii°), A minor (ii°) and C 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.).
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
B° 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 B° on top and puts another note in the bass: the letter after the slash is the lowest note you play.
- B°/D
B° with its ♭3rd, D, in the bass: the first inversion.
- B°/F
B° with its ♭5th, F, in the bass: the second inversion.
Same root
Other chords on 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
- Bm minor
- B7 dominant 7th
- Bmaj7 major 7th
- Bm7 minor 7th
- Bsus2 suspended 2nd
- Bsus4 suspended 4th
- B6 major 6th
- Bm6 minor 6th
- Badd9 add 9
- B9 dominant 9th
- Bmaj9 major 9th
- Bm9 minor 9th
- B13 dominant 13th
- Bmaj13 major 13th
- Bm11 minor 11th
- Bm7♭5 half-diminished 7th
- B°7 diminished 7th
- B+ augmented
- B5 power chord
- B7sus4 dominant 7th suspended 4th
- Bm(maj7) minor major 7th
- B6/9 six-nine
- Bm(add9) minor add 9
- B7♯9 dominant 7th sharp 9th
Questions
B°, in short
- What notes are in the B° chord?
- B° (B 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: B, D and F, 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 B° on guitar?
- B° 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. 2 or the E shape at fret 7.
- What key is B° in?
- B° belongs to three keys: C major (vii°), A minor (ii°) and C 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.).