# D♯ Diminished 7th piano chord (D♯dim7) D♯dim7 contains D♯, F♯, A and C. Three stacked minor thirds. D♯ and F♯ are black keys; A and C are white. - Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/diminished-7th/d-sharp/ - Entity: chord:diminished-7th:d-sharp - Notes: D♯ F♯ A C - Formula: 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭♭7 - Intervals from root: P1, m3, TT, M6 - Interval stack (semitones): 3 3 3 - Also written: D♯dim7, D#dim7, D♯ diminished 7th - Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre ## Construction | Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | D♯ | Perfect unison | 0 | | ♭3 | F♯ | Minor third | 3 | | ♭5 | A | Tritone | 6 | | ♭♭7 | C | Major sixth | 9 | ## Fingering Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 2 on D♯, finger 3 on F♯, finger 4 on A, finger 5 on C. The left hand mirrors it. Right hand 2-3-4-5, left hand 5-4-3-2. Source: piano.org fingering method v1. ## Inversions | Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Root position | D♯ | D♯3 F♯3 A3 C4 | 7 | 9 st, 124 mm | | First inversion (D♯dim7/F♯) | F♯ | F♯3 A3 C4 D♯4 | 6/5 | 9 st, 124 mm | | Second inversion (D♯dim7/A) | A | A3 C4 D♯4 F♯4 | 4/3 | 9 st, 124 mm | | Third inversion (D♯dim7/C) | C | C4 D♯4 F♯4 A4 | 4/2 | 9 st, 124 mm | ## Voicings (10) | Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Close, root position | D♯3 F♯3 A3 C4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none | | Close, first inversion | F♯3 A3 C4 D♯4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none | | Close, second inversion | A3 C4 D♯4 F♯4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none | | Close, third inversion | C4 D♯4 F♯4 A4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none | | Drop 2 | A2 D♯3 F♯3 C4 | 15 st, 206 mm | identical | none | | Drop 3 | F♯2 D♯3 A3 C4 | 18 st, 248 mm | identical | none | | Drop 2 and 4 | D♯2 A2 F♯3 C4 | 21 st, 289 mm | identical | none | | Shell, root ♭♭7 ♭3 | D♯2 C3 F♯3 | 15 st, 206 mm | subset | omits A | | Guide tones, ♭3 and ♭♭7 | F♯3 C4 | 6 st, 83 mm | subset | omits D♯ and A | | Rootless close | F♯3 A3 C4 | 6 st, 83 mm | subset | omits D♯ | ## One-edit neighbors | Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | D♯dim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | drops C | 3 | | D♯m7♭5 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7 | C becomes C♯ | 3 | | D♯m6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | A becomes A♯ | 3 | | D♯m | 1 ♭3 5 | A, C becomes A♯ | 2 | | D♯m7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | A, C becomes A♯, C♯ | 2 | | D♯mMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | A, C becomes A♯, C× | 2 | | D♯6 | 1 3 5 6 | F♯, A becomes F×, A♯ | 2 | ## Set theory - Absolute pitch classes: {3, 6, 9, 0} - Relative pitch classes: [0, 3, 6, 9] - Normal order: [0, 3, 6, 9] - Prime form: (0369) - Forte number: 4-28 - Interval vector: <004002> ## Frequencies (close root position) | Note | MIDI | Frequency | | --- | --- | --- | | D♯3 | 51 | 155.56 Hz | | F♯3 | 54 | 185.00 Hz | | A3 | 57 | 220.00 Hz | | C4 | 60 | 261.63 Hz | ## Questions and answers ### What notes are in D♯dim7? D♯dim7 contains D♯, F♯, A and C. The formula is 1, ♭3, ♭5, ♭♭7. ### How do you play D♯dim7 on piano? Play D♯, F♯, A and C together. Right hand fingers 2, 3, 4, 5; left hand 5, 4, 3, 2. D♯ and F♯ are black keys; A and C are white. ### What are the inversions of D♯dim7? 4 positions: root position D♯ F♯ A C, D♯dim7/F♯, D♯dim7/A, D♯dim7/C. ### What is the difference between D♯dim7 and D♯dim? Drops C. 3 of the notes are shared. ### What is an easy D♯dim7 for small hands? The guide tones, ♭3 and ♭♭7 voicing, F♯3 C4, spans 6 semitones or about 83 mm. ### What are the frequencies of D♯dim7? From D♯3 at A440 in 12-TET: 155.56, 185.00, 220.00, 261.63 Hz. ### What is the set class of D♯dim7? Prime form (0369), Forte 4-28, interval vector <004002>. ### How do I transpose D♯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 E♭dim7 the same as D♯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:d-sharp Last reviewed: 2026-08-12