Chord Shapes

Diminished Triad

Intervals: 1-b3-b5. Built from two stacked minor 3rds, the diminished triad sounds compressed, unstable and slightly eerie. In functional harmony it appears as a leading-tone chord (vii°) or as ii° in minor, often in first inversion to lessen its harshness. In jazz and popular music it is more often used as a passing chord between two chords a tone apart (e.g. C–C#°–Dm), where each note of the ° triad moves by step into the next harmony. Think of it as a brief intensification of dominant or subdominant function: it rarely stays for long, but its momentary tension makes the surrounding chords feel more resolved.