Guitar chord reference
Diminished 7 guitar chord: five CAGED shapes
A diminished seventh chord stacks three minor thirds, creating a symmetrical four-note structure. Any chord tone can sound like a root, so spelling and harmonic context matter as much as fingering.
Chord construction and function
The diminished 7th is enharmonically equivalent to a major 6th but functions differently. Combined with ♭3 and ♭5, it allows every voice to resolve by a small step.
- Chord formula
- 1 · ♭3 · ♭5 · ♭♭7
- Notes in Cdim7
- C · E♭ · G♭ · B♭♭
Cdim7 in CAGED neck order
Root notes are highlighted. Read each movable voicing as a set of chord tones, not simply as a copied open shape.
C shape
A shape
G shape
E shape
D shape
Practice drill
Move one diminished shape in minor-third intervals and track the changing root names. Resolve each chord tone by semitone into a nearby major or minor voicing.
Open the chord randomiser