# C♭ Diminished piano chord (C♭dim)

C♭dim contains C♭, E♭♭ and G♭♭. Two stacked minor thirds. Every note is a white key.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/diminished/c-flat/
- Entity: chord:diminished:c-flat
- Notes: C♭ E♭♭ G♭♭
- Formula: 1 ♭3 ♭5
- Intervals from root: P1, m3, TT
- Interval stack (semitones): 3 3
- Also written: C♭dim, Cbdim, C♭ diminished
- 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 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on C♭, finger 3 on E♭♭, finger 5 on G♭♭. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 1-3-5, left hand 5-3-1. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | C♭ | C♭3 E♭♭4 G♭♭4 | 5/3 | 6 st, 83 mm |
| First inversion (C♭dim/E♭♭) | E♭♭ | E♭♭4 G♭♭4 C♭4 | 6/3 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Second inversion (C♭dim/G♭♭) | G♭♭ | G♭♭4 C♭4 E♭♭5 | 6/4 | 9 st, 124 mm |

## Voicings (5)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | C♭3 E♭♭4 G♭♭4 | 6 st, 83 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | E♭♭4 G♭♭4 C♭4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | G♭♭4 C♭4 E♭♭5 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Open, fifth on top | C♭2 G♭♭3 E♭♭4 | 15 st, 206 mm | identical | none |
| Root and third only | C♭3 E♭♭4 | 3 st, 41 mm | subset | omits G♭♭ |

## Diatonic function by key

| Key | Roman numeral | Function |
| --- | --- | --- |
| C major | vii° | Dominant function |
| A minor | ii° | Predominant |

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (2)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| vii°, I | C major | vii° | Bdim to C | C♭dim opens the phrase |
| ii°, v, i | A minor | ii° | Bdim to Em to Am | C♭dim opens the phrase |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| C♭m7♭5 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7 | adds B♭♭ | 3 |
| C♭dim7 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭♭7 | adds B♭♭♭ | 3 |
| C♭m | 1 ♭3 5 | G♭♭ becomes G♭ | 2 |
| C♭m7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | G♭♭ becomes G♭, B♭♭ | 2 |
| C♭mMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | G♭♭ becomes G♭, B♭ | 2 |
| C♭m6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | G♭♭ becomes G♭, A♭ | 2 |
| C♭ | 1 3 5 | E♭♭, G♭♭ becomes E♭, G♭ | 1 |
| C♭aug | 1 3 ♯5 | E♭♭, G♭♭ becomes E♭, G | 1 |
| C♭sus2 | 1 2 5 | E♭♭, G♭♭ becomes D♭, G♭ | 1 |
| C♭sus4 | 1 4 5 | E♭♭, G♭♭ becomes F♭, G♭ | 1 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {11, 2, 5}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 3, 6]
- Normal order: [11, 2, 5]
- Prime form: (036)
- Forte number: 3-10
- Interval vector: <002001>

## 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 |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in C♭dim?

C♭dim contains C♭, E♭♭ and G♭♭. The formula is 1, ♭3, ♭5.

### How do you play C♭dim on piano?

Play C♭, E♭♭ and G♭♭ together. Right hand fingers 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1. Every note is a white key.

### What are the inversions of C♭dim?

3 positions: root position C♭ E♭♭ G♭♭, C♭dim/E♭♭, C♭dim/G♭♭.

### What keys contain C♭dim?

2: vii° in C major, ii° in A minor.

### What is the difference between C♭dim and C♭m7♭5?

Adds B♭♭. 3 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy C♭dim for small hands?

The root and third only voicing, C♭3 E♭♭4, spans 3 semitones or about 41 mm.

### What are the frequencies of C♭dim?

From C♭3 at A440 in 12-TET: 246.94, 293.66, 349.23 Hz.

### What is the set class of C♭dim?

Prime form (036), Forte 3-10, interval vector &lt;002001&gt;.

### How do I transpose C♭dim to another key?

Keep the 1, ♭3, ♭5 formula on the new root. Cdim is C, E♭, G♭; C♯dim is C♯, E, G.

### Is Bdim the same as C♭dim?

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:c-flat
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12