# C♭ Diminished 7th piano chord (C♭dim7) C♭dim7 contains C♭, E♭♭, G♭♭ and B♭♭♭. Three stacked minor thirds. B♭♭♭ is a black key; C♭, E♭♭ and G♭♭ are white. - Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/diminished-7th/c-flat/ - Entity: chord:diminished-7th:c-flat - Notes: C♭ E♭♭ G♭♭ B♭♭♭ - Formula: 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭♭7 - Intervals from root: P1, m3, TT, M6 - Interval stack (semitones): 3 3 3 - Also written: C♭dim7, Cbdim7, C♭ diminished 7th - Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre ## Construction | Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | C♭ | Perfect unison | 0 | | ♭3 | E♭♭ | Minor third | 3 | | ♭5 | G♭♭ | Tritone | 6 | | ♭♭7 | B♭♭♭ | Major sixth | 9 | ## Fingering Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on C♭, finger 2 on E♭♭, finger 3 on G♭♭, finger 5 on B♭♭♭. The left hand mirrors it. Right hand 1-2-3-5, left hand 5-3-2-1. Source: piano.org fingering method v1. ## Inversions | Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Root position | C♭ | C♭3 E♭♭4 G♭♭4 B♭♭♭4 | 7 | 9 st, 124 mm | | First inversion (C♭dim7/E♭♭) | E♭♭ | E♭♭4 G♭♭4 B♭♭♭4 C♭4 | 6/5 | 9 st, 124 mm | | Second inversion (C♭dim7/G♭♭) | G♭♭ | G♭♭4 B♭♭♭4 C♭4 E♭♭5 | 4/3 | 9 st, 124 mm | | Third inversion (C♭dim7/B♭♭♭) | B♭♭♭ | B♭♭♭4 C♭4 E♭♭5 G♭♭5 | 4/2 | 9 st, 124 mm | ## Voicings (10) | Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Close, root position | C♭3 E♭♭4 G♭♭4 B♭♭♭4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none | | Close, first inversion | E♭♭4 G♭♭4 B♭♭♭4 C♭4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none | | Close, second inversion | G♭♭4 B♭♭♭4 C♭4 E♭♭5 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none | | Close, third inversion | B♭♭♭4 C♭4 E♭♭5 G♭♭5 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none | | Drop 2 | G♭♭3 C♭3 E♭♭4 B♭♭♭4 | 15 st, 206 mm | identical | none | | Drop 3 | E♭♭3 C♭3 G♭♭4 B♭♭♭4 | 18 st, 248 mm | identical | none | | Drop 2 and 4 | C♭2 G♭♭3 E♭♭4 B♭♭♭4 | 21 st, 289 mm | identical | none | | Shell, root ♭♭7 ♭3 | C♭2 B♭♭♭3 E♭♭4 | 15 st, 206 mm | subset | omits G♭♭ | | Guide tones, ♭3 and ♭♭7 | E♭♭4 B♭♭♭4 | 6 st, 83 mm | subset | omits C♭ and G♭♭ | | Rootless close | E♭♭4 G♭♭4 B♭♭♭4 | 6 st, 83 mm | subset | omits C♭ | ## One-edit neighbors | Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | C♭dim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | drops B♭♭♭ | 3 | | C♭m7♭5 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7 | B♭♭♭ becomes B♭♭ | 3 | | C♭m6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | G♭♭ becomes G♭ | 3 | | C♭m | 1 ♭3 5 | G♭♭, B♭♭♭ becomes G♭ | 2 | | C♭m7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | G♭♭, B♭♭♭ becomes G♭, B♭♭ | 2 | | C♭mMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | G♭♭, B♭♭♭ becomes G♭, B♭ | 2 | | C♭6 | 1 3 5 6 | E♭♭, G♭♭ becomes E♭, G♭ | 2 | ## Set theory - Absolute pitch classes: {11, 2, 5, 8} - Relative pitch classes: [0, 3, 6, 9] - Normal order: [2, 5, 8, 11] - Prime form: (0369) - Forte number: 4-28 - Interval vector: <004002> ## Frequencies (close root position) | Note | MIDI | Frequency | | --- | --- | --- | | C♭3 | 59 | 246.94 Hz | | E♭♭4 | 62 | 293.66 Hz | | G♭♭4 | 65 | 349.23 Hz | | B♭♭♭4 | 68 | 415.30 Hz | ## Questions and answers ### What notes are in C♭dim7? C♭dim7 contains C♭, E♭♭, G♭♭ and B♭♭♭. The formula is 1, ♭3, ♭5, ♭♭7. ### How do you play C♭dim7 on piano? Play C♭, E♭♭, G♭♭ and B♭♭♭ together. Right hand fingers 1, 2, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 2, 1. B♭♭♭ is a black key; C♭, E♭♭ and G♭♭ are white. ### What are the inversions of C♭dim7? 4 positions: root position C♭ E♭♭ G♭♭ B♭♭♭, C♭dim7/E♭♭, C♭dim7/G♭♭, C♭dim7/B♭♭♭. ### What is the difference between C♭dim7 and C♭dim? Drops B♭♭♭. 3 of the notes are shared. ### What is an easy C♭dim7 for small hands? The guide tones, ♭3 and ♭♭7 voicing, E♭♭4 B♭♭♭4, spans 6 semitones or about 83 mm. ### What are the frequencies of C♭dim7? From C♭3 at A440 in 12-TET: 246.94, 293.66, 349.23, 415.30 Hz. ### What is the set class of C♭dim7? Prime form (0369), Forte 4-28, interval vector <004002>. ### How do I transpose C♭dim7 to another key? Keep the 1, ♭3, ♭5, ♭♭7 formula on the new root. C♯dim7 is C♯, E, G, B♭; Ddim7 is D, F, A♭, C♭. ### Is Bdim7 the same as C♭dim7? Enharmonically yes: the same piano keys and the same sound, spelled differently. ## Provenance Every derived value above is computed by the piano.org theory kernel from the root, the quality and the stated parameters. Nothing is hand-entered per chord. Machine record: https://piano.org/api/knowledge/v1/entities/chord:diminished-7th:c-flat Last reviewed: 2026-08-12