A diminished seventh (Adim7) chord on mandolin

Looking for the Adim7 chord on mandolin? It is a diminished seventh chord (three stacked minor thirds), made of four notes: A – C – E♭ – G♭.

Dots show:

Basic shapemedium

Position 4medium

Position 7medium

Position 10easy

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

Basic shape

String 1 (E): fret 2, ring finger (G♭5)
String 2 (A): fret 3, little finger (C5)
String 3 (D): fret 1, index finger (E♭4)
String 4 (G): fret 2, middle finger (A3)

Position 4

String 1 (E): fret 5, ring finger (A5)
String 2 (A): fret 6, little finger (E♭5)
String 3 (D): fret 4, index finger (G♭4)
String 4 (G): fret 5, middle finger (C4)

Position 7

String 1 (E): fret 8, ring finger (C6)
String 2 (A): fret 9, little finger (G♭5)
String 3 (D): fret 7, index finger (A4)
String 4 (G): fret 8, middle finger (E♭4)

Tuning: G D A E, like a violin; every note is a pair of strings that you fret together. In the diagram, × means the string is not played, and a circle means an open string.

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 mandolin?

The easiest shape above is “Position 10”, rated easy. We show 4 shapes, from open and easy versions to movable barre shapes higher up the neck.

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.