Cdim ukulele chord
Tense and unstable. Both the third and the fifth are flattened, producing a chord that badly wants to move somewhere else.
C diminished · standard GCEA tuning · 3 shapes
How to Play Cdim on Ukulele
The easiest shape is 5323: G string 5th fret · C string 3rd fret · E string 2nd fret · A string 3rd fret.
Up the neck, fret 2
5 3 2 3
Barre at fret 6
8 6 8 6
Up the neck, fret 9
11 0 11 9
Strings left to right are G, C, E and A, as the ukulele faces you. Numbers are frets; 0 means play the string open. Every shape is worked out from the notes the chord must contain and checked against them before it is published.
Notes in Cdim
A ukulele has four strings, so a 3-note chord doubles one of its notes on the spare string. Because the G string is tuned high (reentrant tuning), the lowest note you hear is usually on the C or E string, not the G.
Songs and Keys That Use Cdim
Cdim belongs to one major key: C♯ major (as the vii° chord).
- vii° – I — a tense chord resolving straight home
Cdim on Other Instruments
- Guitar: see the Cdim guitar chord — six strings, so the shapes are different, but the notes are the same.
- Baritone ukulele (DGBE): 4542. A baritone is tuned like the top four strings of a guitar, so guitar shapes carry over and standard-ukulele shapes do not. Tune one with the baritone ukulele tuner.
Related Ukulele Chords
Tune first
A right shape on an out-of-tune ukulele still sounds wrong. Check G, C, E and A in a few seconds.
Open the Ukulele Tuner →