How to play G diminished mandolin chords

Overview

There are many positions (ways, variants etc.) to play the G diminished mandolin chord.

In this article I will help you play the most common mandolin chord positions for Gdim fingered for your convenience. To help you understand how to play them, I have included a music theory quick explanation for you to understand what is a Gdim chord. I also created step-by-step instructions, describing where to place each finger on the mandolin fret-board and what note this will produce for the first two positions of Gdim. Finally, the article includes a chord chart with all possible mandolin chord positions for future reference, feel free to print it and practice.

What is a G diminished (Gdim) chord?

The Gdim is a triad chord, i.e. it consists of three notes as following:

The root, which for the Gdim chord is of course G
The third, which for the Gdim chord is Bb. Note that this creates a minor third interval that consists of three half steps (G to Ab, Ab to A, A to Bb)
The fifth, which for the Gdim chord is Db. Note again that this creates another minor third interval that consists of three half steps (Bb to B, B to C, C to Db).

Note that this chord is called diminished because the interval created between the root and the fifth (G to Db) is a diminished fifth interval.

Note that half steps correspond to one fret difference between notes played on the same string.

See how the Gdim chord is written on sheet paper:

If you want to understand more on chords theory, i.e. how they are constructed, check out the following popular article I have written some time ago: Understanding Chords Theory.

If you need a blank sheet paper to write it down in order to understand it, you can download one from theMandolinTuner free blank music paper sheet.

[sc:vextab] [sc:vexfretboard]

Three finger, Gdim fingered for mandolin, 1st position

How fingers are placed

This is how you place your fingers on the fretboard

fretboard
option strings=4
show frets=3 string=4 text=1
show frets=5 string=3 text=3
show frets=4 string=2 text=2
show frets=3 string=1 text=1

How notes are mapped on the fretboard

In standard notation, this Gdim looks like this:

fretboard
option strings=4
show frets=3 string=4 text=Bb
show frets=5 string=3 text=G
show frets=4 string=2 text=Db
show frets=3 string=1 text=G

Here are instructions on how to place your left hand on the fretboard:

First finger on 3rd fret of fourth till first strings (big barre) string.
Second finger on 4th fret of second string.
Fourth finger on 5th fret of third string.

Note that as the root (lowest) note of this Gdim chord is not G but instead it is Bb, this is an inverted chord and therefore it is written as Gdim/Bb.

Four Finger Gdim, fingered for mandolin, 2nd position

How fingers are placed

This is how you place your fingers on the fretboard

fretboard
option strings=4
show frets=6 string=4 text=3
show frets=5 string=3 text=2
show frets=4 string=2 text=1
show frets=6 string=1 text=4

How notes are mapped on the fretboard

In standard notation, this Gdim looks like this:

fretboard
option strings=4
show frets=6 string=4 text=Db
show frets=5 string=3 text=G
show frets=4 string=2 text=Db
show frets=6 string=1 text=Bb

Here are instructions on how to place your left hand on the fretboard:

First finger on 4th fret of second string.
Second finger on 5th fret of third string.
Third finger on 6th fret of fourth string.
Fourth finger on 6th fret of first string.

Note that as the root (lowest) note of this Gdim chord is not G but instead it is Db, this is an inverted chord and therefore it is written as Gdim/Db.