D♯ diminished — D♯, F♯, A — is the vii° of E major. The chord's tritone (D♯ to A) drives the resolution to E in the strongest cadence available in E major. D♯° appears regularly in any music in E or its relative minor, C♯ minor.
Intervals
The D# diminished chord stacks two thirds on the root. Each interval and its size in semitones:
- D#→F#minor 3rd3 semitones
- F#→Aminor 3rd3 semitones
- D#→Adiminished 5th6 semitones
On the keyboard
Each note of the D# diminished chord highlighted on a piano. Pitch class is what matters — any octave works.
On the guitar
One voicing of the D# diminished chord on a six-string guitar fretboard.
Common mistakes
D♯° contains both D♯ and F♯ as sharps but A natural as the fifth. Reading the A as A♯ would make a D♯ minor chord; reading it as A♭ would respell the entire chord enharmonically. The mixed-accidental signature is part of why diminished triads in sharp keys can be tricky to read at sight.
In context
D♯° → E (vii° → I) is a textbook cadence in E major. In C♯ minor, D♯° → G♯ → C♯m (ii° → V → i) is the most-common cadential pattern. Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op. 14 No. 1 uses D♯° at multiple points to set up the home key.
Drill it
The D# diminished chord is one of 48 in the Chord Trainer. Open the full trainer to practice it alongside related chords with timing and best-time tracking.
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Frequently asked
- What notes are in a D♯ diminished chord?
- D♯ diminished contains three notes: D♯ (the root), F♯ (the minor third), and A (the diminished fifth).
- What key uses D♯ diminished as vii°?
- E major — D♯° is built on the 7th scale degree of E and resolves cadentially to E major (the I chord).
- Is D♯ diminished the same as E♭ diminished?
- Enharmonically yes — the pitches sound identical. But E♭° (E♭–G♭–B𝄫) requires a double-flat, so it's rarely written. D♯° is the standard spelling.
- How do you play D♯ diminished on guitar?
- A small partial barre on the middle strings: index finger on the 6th fret of the 4th string (D♯), middle finger on the 7th fret of the 3rd string (A) and 4th-fret stop... typically played as a closed-position 4-string voicing rather than an open chord.