Abdim piano chord — the keys, the inversions, the theory

Abdim is a diminished chord built from Ab, Cb, Ebb. Below: the keys to press, every inversion with its own diagram, the intervals it is made of, the keys whose scale contains it, and a progression that actually uses it. Press any diagram to hear it.

Abdim

Ab · Cb · Ebb

Piano keyboardC4C5

Semitones above the root: 0 – 3 – 6

Two minor thirds stacked. Nothing sits still here; it is a chord that leads somewhere.

Inversions of Abdim

  • Root position

    Ab · Cb · Ebb · bass Ab

  • Inversion 1

    Cb · Ebb · Ab · bass Cb

  • Inversion 2

    Ebb · Ab · Cb · bass Ebb

Same chord, different note at the bottom. Press a diagram to hear it — inversions are how you move between chords without jumping your hand across the keyboard.

Keys that contain Abdim

  • Avii°

In A it does this job: IV – vii° – I

  1. D
  2. Abdim
  3. A

Questions