D diminished chordDdim

Built from

• Droot
• Fminor 3rd
• A♭flat 5th

The flat 5th is the most unstable interval there is. It cannot stay put.

Hear it in a progression

• Leading home

  Tension that resolves up one fret. In E♭ major.

  Capo and transpose

  1. A♭IV
  2. Ddimvii°
  3. E♭I
  4. E♭I

Where it goes next

Thinking in E♭ major, where it is the vii° chord.

• E♭

  I. Its top note leads up one fret, straight home.

• Gm

  iii. Settles onto iii.

Sounds close

• Fdim7

  Shares 3 of its notes. Both have D, F and A♭.

• B♭7

  Shares 3 of its notes. Both have D, F and A♭.

• C♯

  Shares 2 of its notes. Both have F and A♭.

• Fm

  Shares 2 of its notes. Both have F and A♭.

Keys it lives in

• C minoras ii°
• E♭ majoras vii°