How to Play Diminished Piano Chords

The diminished chords are some of the darkest and most eerie-sounding chords you can play on the piano. This isn't suprising, since they consist entirely of minor thirds, the intervals that give pieces like the Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and Bach's Toccata in D their brooding character. Playing the diminished chords is easy, though, and you'll have no problem finding uses for them in your piano music.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Place your thumb over middle C. There are six diminished triads in all, and each one starts on a different note. As an example, we'll start with the C-diminished triad.

2. Put your index finger on the E-flat above middle C and your ring finger on the following G-flat (or F-sharp). You should now have your fingers over C, E-flat and G-flat.

3. Press the three keys at once. This plays the C-diminished triad. As you can see, an interval of a minor third separates each of the notes.

4. Add the A-natural to the chord using your pinky. This produces a diminished seventh chord, which occurs frequently in jazz.

5. Play a half-diminished seventh chord by changing the A-natural on your pinky to a B-flat. This widens the last interval in the chord from a minor to a major third, softening its sound just a bit.

Tips & Warnings

• Try the other diminished triads by starting the chord on a different note. Just make sure each there are three half-tones separating each of the notes.
• The diminished seventh chord divides the octave into four equal parts.