Arpeggio
C♯ dim7
Augmented / Diminished
- Formula
- 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭♭7
- Notes
- C♯ E G B♭
Notation
Fretboard — frets 0–24
Degrees
| Degree | Note | Interval | Semitones | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C♯ | perfect unison | 0 | The root — the tonal centre every other note is heard against; land on it and the sound resolves. |
| ♭3 | E | minor third | 3 | The minor third — the dark counterpart of the major third; it turns a shape minor and colours m, m7 and the minor scales. |
| ♭5 | G | diminished fifth | 6 | The diminished fifth — a flattened fifth that destabilises the chord; dim, m7♭5 and locrian are built on it. |
| ♭♭7 | B♭ | diminished seventh | 9 | The diminished seventh — the double-flat seventh of dim7; three minor thirds stack up and every note can act as a root. |
About this arpeggio
The diminished seventh stacks four minor thirds, producing a fully symmetrical chord that repeats every three frets and can be respelled with any of its notes as the root. Its double-flat seventh is enharmonically the same pitch as the major sixth, so the chord sounds both dark and strangely open. It is the classic dramatic chord — silent-film tension, gypsy jazz turnarounds, classical sequences — and it resolves forcefully when any note moves up a half-step. Because of the symmetry, one shape covers four different chords. Listen for the four minor thirds and the way the whole structure seems to rotate rather than sit.
How to practise this arpeggio
- Play the four minor thirds slowly and listen to the symmetry.
- Resolve any note up a half-step and hear the chord collapse into a new one.
- Move the shape up three frets and hear the same chord return.
- Compare it with m7♭5 to hear the difference the double-flat seventh makes.