C# Diminished Chord

The notes are C sharp (root), E (minor third) and G (diminished fifth). Their formula is 1-flat 3-flat 5. Count three semitones from C sharp to E, then three more to G. G is a diminished fifth above C sharp, six semitones from the root.

The diminished fifth is a tritone above the root. Playing only C sharp and G isolates the interval; adding E shows how it sits inside the full chord. You may see the triad written C sharpdim or C sharp°.

Move the lowest note up an octave while keeping the same pitch classes:

A change of position does not add a new note. Play each inversion broken and listen for the tritone even when its two notes no longer sit at the outside of your hand shape. Chord Inversions explains how the bass changes the reading.

Keep C sharp and E; raise G by one semitone to the perfect fifth and you have C sharp minor. Reverse the move to hear the diminished chord again. Compare with C# Minor Chord using the same root and volume. A one-key change makes the diminished fifth much easier to identify than an abstract label like “unstable.”

No. C sharpdim is the three-note triad above. C sharpdim7 adds a diminished seventh as a fourth note. Some charts use “dim” loosely, so listen to or check the actual notes before assuming the seventh is present. Diminished Chord separates the two structures.

Play C sharp minor, lower only its fifth, then raise that fifth again. Next, play the diminished triad with E in the bass. If you still recognize the six-semitone root-to-fifth distance after the inversion, you are hearing the structure rather than memorizing one keyboard shape.