Diminished triad

"Diminished chord" redirects here. For the seventh chord, see Diminished seventh chord.
diminished triad
Component intervals from root
diminished fifth (tritone)
minor third
root
Tuning
45:54:64;[1] 54:45=6:5 & 64:45[2]
Forte no. / Complement
3-10 / 9-10

In music theory, a diminished triad is a triad consisting of two minor thirds above the root.[3] It is a minor triad with a lowered (flattened) fifth. When using chord symbols, it may be indicated by the symbols "dim", "o", "m♭5", or "MI(♭5)".[4] However, in most popular-music chord books, the symbol "dim" or "o" represents a diminished seventh chord (a four-tone chord), which in some modern jazz books and music theory books is represented by the "dim7" or "o7" symbols.

For example, the diminished triad built on B, written as Bo, has pitches B-D-F:

{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c' { <b d f>1 } }

The chord can be represented by the integer notation {0, 3, 6}.

In the common practice period, the diminished triad is considered dissonant because of the diminished fifth (or tritone).

  1. ^ Shirlaw, Matthew (2012). The Theory of Harmony, p. 304. Forgotten Books. ISBN 978-1-4510-1534-8.
  2. ^ Partch, Harry (1979). Genesis of a Music, pp. 68–69. ISBN 978-0-306-80106-8.
  3. ^ Benward; Saker (2003). Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I (7th ed.). McGraw-Hill. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-07-294262-0.
  4. ^ Benward & Saker (2003), p.77.