Diminished chords are interesting and add colour to music. I like the way they sound although some times they are difficult to play. The key with diminished chords is to understand what they are, how they are constructed, i.e. the music theory behind diminished chords, but also to learn how to play them using one of the usual fingerings.
Summarising, a C# diminished chord in root position consists of C#-E-G, when in first inversion consists of E-G-C# and is called C#/E dim and is second inversion consists of G-C#-E and is called C#/G. Similarly, a Db diminished in root position consists of Db-Fb-Abb, when in first inversion consists of Fb-Abb-Db and is called Db/Fb dim and is second inversion consists of Abb-Db-Fb and is called Db/Abb.
What is a C# (or Db) Diminished Mandolin Chord
The C# (or Db) is a triad chord, i.e. it consists of three notes with C# (or Db) as root.
To construct a diminished triad chord you have to use a minor third and a diminished fifth interval. So:
When these two are combined, they create C# dim (C#-E-G), or Db dim (Db-Fb-Abb).
See how the C#dim chord is written on sheet paper:
And here is Db dim on sheet paper:
How to Practice chords on the mandolin
There are many good articles here at theMandolinTuner for practicing chords. I suggest you start with:
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How to practice chords on the mandolin
Here at theMandolinTuner, all variants of each chord are presented with nice photorealistic fingered images. But what is the best way to practice these chords? General Advise I suggest you practice playing the variants one by [...]
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Ok, it is now time to practice. Grab your mandolin and try to play these chord variants now, it is easy, just follow the instructions!
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