# E Diminished 7th piano chord (Edim7) Edim7 contains E, G, B♭ and D♭. Three stacked minor thirds. B♭ and D♭ are black keys; E and G are white. - Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/diminished-7th/e/ - Entity: chord:diminished-7th:e - Notes: E G B♭ D♭ - Formula: 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭♭7 - Intervals from root: P1, m3, TT, M6 - Interval stack (semitones): 3 3 3 - Also written: Edim7, Edim7, E diminished 7th - Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre ## Construction | Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | E | Perfect unison | 0 | | ♭3 | G | Minor third | 3 | | ♭5 | B♭ | Tritone | 6 | | ♭♭7 | D♭ | Major sixth | 9 | ## Fingering Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on E, finger 2 on G, finger 3 on B♭, finger 5 on D♭. 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 | E | E3 G3 B♭3 D♭4 | 7 | 9 st, 124 mm | | First inversion (Edim7/G) | G | G3 B♭3 D♭4 E4 | 6/5 | 9 st, 124 mm | | Second inversion (Edim7/B♭) | B♭ | B♭3 D♭4 E4 G4 | 4/3 | 9 st, 124 mm | | Third inversion (Edim7/D♭) | D♭ | D♭4 E4 G4 B♭4 | 4/2 | 9 st, 124 mm | ## Voicings (10) | Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Close, root position | E3 G3 B♭3 D♭4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none | | Close, first inversion | G3 B♭3 D♭4 E4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none | | Close, second inversion | B♭3 D♭4 E4 G4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none | | Close, third inversion | D♭4 E4 G4 B♭4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none | | Drop 2 | B♭2 E3 G3 D♭4 | 15 st, 206 mm | identical | none | | Drop 3 | G2 E3 B♭3 D♭4 | 18 st, 248 mm | identical | none | | Drop 2 and 4 | E2 B♭2 G3 D♭4 | 21 st, 289 mm | identical | none | | Shell, root ♭♭7 ♭3 | E2 D♭3 G3 | 15 st, 206 mm | subset | omits B♭ | | Guide tones, ♭3 and ♭♭7 | G3 D♭4 | 6 st, 83 mm | subset | omits E and B♭ | | Rootless close | G3 B♭3 D♭4 | 6 st, 83 mm | subset | omits E | ## One-edit neighbors | Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Edim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | drops D♭ | 3 | | Em7♭5 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7 | D♭ becomes D | 3 | | Em6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | B♭ becomes B | 3 | | Em | 1 ♭3 5 | B♭, D♭ becomes B | 2 | | Em7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | B♭, D♭ becomes B, D | 2 | | EmMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | B♭, D♭ becomes B, D♯ | 2 | | E6 | 1 3 5 6 | G, B♭ becomes G♯, B | 2 | ## Set theory - Absolute pitch classes: {4, 7, 10, 1} - Relative pitch classes: [0, 3, 6, 9] - Normal order: [1, 4, 7, 10] - Prime form: (0369) - Forte number: 4-28 - Interval vector: <004002> ## Frequencies (close root position) | Note | MIDI | Frequency | | --- | --- | --- | | E3 | 52 | 164.81 Hz | | G3 | 55 | 196.00 Hz | | B♭3 | 58 | 233.08 Hz | | D♭4 | 61 | 277.18 Hz | ## Questions and answers ### What notes are in Edim7? Edim7 contains E, G, B♭ and D♭. The formula is 1, ♭3, ♭5, ♭♭7. ### How do you play Edim7 on piano? Play E, G, B♭ and D♭ together. Right hand fingers 1, 2, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 2, 1. B♭ and D♭ are black keys; E and G are white. ### What are the inversions of Edim7? 4 positions: root position E G B♭ D♭, Edim7/G, Edim7/B♭, Edim7/D♭. ### What is the difference between Edim7 and Edim? Drops D♭. 3 of the notes are shared. ### What is an easy Edim7 for small hands? The guide tones, ♭3 and ♭♭7 voicing, G3 D♭4, spans 6 semitones or about 83 mm. ### What are the frequencies of Edim7? From E3 at A440 in 12-TET: 164.81, 196.00, 233.08, 277.18 Hz. ### What is the set class of Edim7? Prime form (0369), Forte 4-28, interval vector <004002>. ### How do I transpose Edim7 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♭. ## 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:e Last reviewed: 2026-08-12