D Diminished

Symbols:Ddim, D°, Do
Scale Degree Formula:1-♭3-♭5
Interval Stack:m3 + m3
Notes:D, F, G#
Hear this chord:▸ Guitar
Inversions:Ddim/F, Ddim/G#

Construction

Using the scale degree formula, we first start with the D major scale, and number each note in the scale starting from 1 - these are the scale degrees. Next, we use the scale degree formula, in this case 1-♭3-♭5, to select notes from our enumerated scale. When a chord requires notes that are not in the scale, this is indicated with a flat (♭) or a sharp (#) along with the scale degree; a ♭3, for instance, would be one half-step down from the 3rd scale degree.
Alternatively, we can use the interval stack to construct our chord. With this approach, we first start with the lowest note of the chord (D), then move our first interval (m3), which brings us to our second note in the chord (F). We repeatedly apply each of the remaining intervals in the stack to get the full list of notes for our chord.
The diagram below shows how both the scale degree formula and interval stack methods result in the same selection of notes:
D1D#♭2E2F♭3F#3G4G#♭5m3m3

Similar Chords

The following chords are similar to this chord and may be a suitable replacement in certain scenarios.

Chord TypeChords
Diminished 7thG#dim7, Fdim7, Ddim7, Bdim7
Diminished Major 7thDdimMaj7
Dominant 7thBb7
Half-Diminished 7thDm7(b5)
MajorC#, Bb
MinorFm, Dm
Minor 6thFm6

Associated Scales

This chord can be found in the following scales.

ScaleRoots
BluesD
DorianF
Dorian b5B, G#, F, D
Harmonic MajorC, A, F#, D#
Harmonic MinorC, A, F#, D#
Ionian #5C, A, F#, D#
LocrianD
Locrian bb7B, G#, F, D
Locrian ♮6B, G#, F, D
LydianG#
Lydian #9B, G#, F, D
Lydian Augmented #2B, G#, F, D
Lydian b3B, G#, F, D
MajorD#
MinorC
MixolydianBb
Mixolydian b2C#, Bb, G, E
PhrygianG
Phrygian DominantC#, Bb, G, E
Phrygian b4C#, Bb, G, E
Super-Locrian bb7B, G#, F, D
Ukrainian DorianB, G#, F, D

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