A diminished seventh (Adim7) chord on guitar

Diminished seventh chord (three stacked minor thirds) on A: the notes of the Adim7 chord are A – C – E♭ – G♭.

Dots show:

Open positionmedium

Position 4medium

E shape, fret 5hard

D shape, fret 7medium

Position 10medium

Tap a string on a diagram to hear just that string. The sound is generated in your browser with a physical string model.

Chord finder Transposer Tuner

What the Adim7 chord sounds like

A diminished seventh is three stacked minor thirds, so it is symmetrical: four different roots give the same notes. A dramatic, tense passing chord.

Notes of the Adim7 chord

Degree	Note	Interval from the root
1	A	root
3	C	minor third (3 semitones)
5	E♭	diminished fifth (6 semitones)
7	G♭	diminished seventh (9 semitones)

How to play it – with fingering

Open position

String 1 (e): fret 2, little finger (G♭4)
String 2 (B): fret 1, middle finger (C4)
String 3 (G): fret 2, ring finger (A3)
String 4 (D): fret 1, index finger (E♭3)
String 5 (A): open (A2)
String 6 (E): not played

Position 4

String 1 (e): fret 5, little finger (A4)
String 2 (B): fret 4, middle finger (E♭4)
String 3 (G): fret 5, ring finger (C4)
String 4 (D): fret 4, index finger (G♭3)
String 5 (A): open (A2)
String 6 (E): not played

E shape, fret 5, barre at fret 5

String 1 (e): fret 5, index finger (A4)
String 2 (B): fret 7, little finger (G♭4)
String 3 (G): fret 5, index finger (C4)
String 4 (D): fret 7, ring finger (A3)
String 5 (A): fret 6, middle finger (E♭3)
String 6 (E): fret 5, index finger (A2)

For the barre, lay your index finger flat across all the marked strings at fret 5; your other fingers press the higher frets.

The “C, A, G, E and D shapes” are the CAGED system: you slide the shape of the open C, A, G, E or D chord up the neck and your index finger (a barre) takes over the job of the nut. That way the same chord can be played in five places, anywhere on the fretboard.

Tuning: E A D G B E (low to high). String 6 is the thickest, the low E. In the diagram, × means the string is not played, and a circle means an open string.

Playing Adim7 with a capo

A capo clamps all the strings at one fret, so a familiar open shape sounds higher. You can also get a Adim7 chord with these open shapes:

Capo: fret 5
shape: Edim7

Capo: fret 7
shape: Ddim7

Rework a whole song for a capo: chord transposer →

Which keys is it in?

The Adim7 chord is built from the notes of these keys (for minor keys, both the natural and the harmonic minor are considered):

B♭ minor: vii°7

Similar chords and substitutes

If Adim7 is too hard, or you want a different colour in the same spot, these chords are worth a try.

Substitutes (by function)

F7 – an incomplete dominant: the diminished chord is the top of this seventh chord
B♭ – where it leads (leading tone → root)

Same notes

Cdim7 – the same notes with a different root
E♭dim7 – the same notes with a different root
F♯dim7 – the same notes with a different root

Simpler versions

Adim – all 3 of its notes are in this chord

Frequently asked questions

What notes are in the Adim7 chord?

A, C, E♭, G♭. The root is A; the intervals of the other notes from the root: minor third, diminished fifth, diminished seventh.

What is the easiest way to play Adim7 on guitar?

The easiest shape above is “Open position”. We show 5 shapes, from open and easy versions to movable barre shapes higher up the neck. With a capo you can also play it as a Edim7 shape at fret 5 or a Ddim7 shape at fret 7.

How do I read the chord diagram?

Strings run from the lowest (left) to the highest (right) – tick “Left-handed” to mirror it. Rows are frets; a number at the side shows the starting fret. Dots are fingers (1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little), a long bar is a barre, × means don't play that string and ○ means play it open.

How is the Adim7 chord written?

The chord symbol is Adim7, and its full name is A diminished seventh.