Position 1 / 4

This chord has 4 voicings across the fretboard. Use the arrows to see each shape and fingering — and tap any dot on the diagram to hear that note.

Expert

Bdim7 Guitar Chord

A fully diminished seventh. Bdim7 is symmetrical and mysterious.

Also known as

  • B°7
  • B °7
  • B dim7
  • B diminished 7th
  • B diminished seventh

How to Play This Chord

Position your fingers on the fretboard as shown in the diagram. The vertical lines represent the strings, from low E (left) to high E (right), and the horizontal lines are the frets. Numbers inside the dots indicate which finger to use: 1 (index), 2 (middle), 3 (ring), 4 (pinky). An X means don't play that string; an O means play it open. A bar spanning multiple strings means one finger presses across all of them at once — this is known as a barre chord.

Tips & Tricks

This symmetrical chord at the 1st fret (with B on the A string, 2nd fret) is common in jazz and classical music. Bdim7 functions beautifully as a chromatic approach chord to C or Cm, creating smooth voice leading in sophisticated progressions.

There are many ways to play this chord. Try these:

eBGDAE 2 3 1 3 1 2 3 1
eBGDAE 1 3 1 3 2 1 3 1
eBGDAE 2 1 3 3 1 2 1 3
eBGDAE 2 1 3 1 3 1 3 1

See how Bdim7 works with other chords — Progression Generator