# E♭ Diminished piano chord (E♭dim)

E♭dim contains E♭, G♭ and B♭♭. Two stacked minor thirds. E♭ and G♭ are black keys; B♭♭ is white.

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

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on E♭, finger 3 on G♭, finger 5 on B♭♭. 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 | E♭ | E♭3 G♭3 B♭♭3 | 5/3 | 6 st, 83 mm |
| First inversion (E♭dim/G♭) | G♭ | G♭3 B♭♭3 E♭4 | 6/3 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Second inversion (E♭dim/B♭♭) | B♭♭ | B♭♭3 E♭4 G♭4 | 6/4 | 9 st, 124 mm |

## Voicings (5)

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

## Diatonic function by key

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

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (2)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ii°, v, i | C♯ minor | ii° | D♯dim to G♯m to C♯m | E♭dim opens the phrase |
| vii°, I | E major | vii° | D♯dim to E | E♭dim opens the phrase |

## One-edit neighbors

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

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {3, 6, 9}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 3, 6]
- Normal order: [3, 6, 9]
- Prime form: (036)
- Forte number: 3-10
- Interval vector: <002001>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| E♭3 | 51 | 155.56 Hz |
| G♭3 | 54 | 185.00 Hz |
| B♭♭3 | 57 | 220.00 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in E♭dim?

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

### How do you play E♭dim on piano?

Play E♭, G♭ and B♭♭ together. Right hand fingers 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1. E♭ and G♭ are black keys; B♭♭ is white.

### What are the inversions of E♭dim?

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

### What keys contain E♭dim?

2: ii° in C♯ minor, vii° in E major.

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

Adds D♭. 3 of the notes are shared.

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

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

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

From E♭3 at A440 in 12-TET: 155.56, 185.00, 220.00 Hz.

### What is the set class of E♭dim?

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

### How do I transpose E♭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 D♯dim the same as E♭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:e-flat
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12