Cdim

C1E♭♭3G♭♭5

Two minor thirds stacked. The fifth is diminished, so it cannot be dropped without losing the chord.

on guitar on piano the scale

Every fingering that fits a hand

Fig. 2

5323

moderate

Fig. 3

532x

easy

Fig. 4

5686

hard

Fig. 5

xcb9

easy

What is true of it

Cdim is C, E♭ and G♭ — 1, b3 and b5 counted from C.

The easiest of the 4 fingerings below is 5323: 4 fingers, held at the 2nd fret.

None of them uses an open string, so this chord moves up the neck unchanged — the same shape 1 fret higher is the chord a semitone above.

Where its notes are on the neck

Fig. 6 — first 12 frets

The brass dots are C, the root. Everything else is a chord tone with its degree printed in it.

With a different note underneath

first inversion

Cdim/E♭

x323

second inversion

Cdim/G♭

x686

An inversion is the same chord with a different note lowest. The name changes to a slash name because the bass is what a listener hears as the foundation.

C in other shapes

Cmajor Cmminor Caugaugmented C5power chord Csus2suspended second Csus4suspended fourth

C♯dim D♭dim Ddim D♯dim E♭dim Edim Fdim F♯dim all 374