G Diminished

Symbols:Gdim, G°, Go
Scale Degree Formula:1-♭3-♭5
Interval Stack:m3 + m3
Notes:G, Bb, C#
Hear this chord:▸ Guitar
Inversions:Gdim/Bb, Gdim/C#

Construction

Using the scale degree formula, we first start with the G 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 (G), then move our first interval (m3), which brings us to our second note in the chord (Bb). 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:
G1G#♭2A2Bb♭3B3C4C#♭5m3m3

Similar Chords

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

Chord TypeChords
Diminished 7thGdim7, Edim7, C#dim7, Bbdim7
Diminished Major 7thGdimMaj7
Dominant 7thD#7
Half-Diminished 7thGm7(b5)
MajorF#, D#
MinorGm, Bbm
Minor 6thBbm6

Associated Scales

This chord can be found in the following scales.

ScaleRoots
BluesG
DorianBb
Dorian b5E, C#, Bb, G
Harmonic MajorF, D, B, G#
Harmonic MinorF, D, B, G#
Ionian #5F, D, B, G#
LocrianG
Locrian bb7E, C#, Bb, G
Locrian ♮6E, C#, Bb, G
LydianC#
Lydian #9E, C#, Bb, G
Lydian Augmented #2E, C#, Bb, G
Lydian b3E, C#, Bb, G
MajorG#
MinorF
MixolydianD#
Mixolydian b2F#, D#, C, A
PhrygianC
Phrygian DominantF#, D#, C, A
Phrygian b4F#, D#, C, A
Super-Locrian bb7E, C#, Bb, G
Ukrainian DorianE, C#, Bb, G

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