Bdim Ukulele Chord

Bdim is the B diminished chord, a diminished triad. It has three notes: B, D and F. It is the diminished chord you actually meet in songs, because it is built on the seventh note of the C major scale and pulls one fret up into C. The standard shape sits in the first four frets with the root under your pinky on the G string.

Root on the G string at the 4th fret and again on the A string, with D and F between them. All four strings fretted, so the shape slides to any root.

How to play Bdim on ukulele, step by step

Index finger: 1st fret, E string
Middle finger: 2nd fret, C string
Ring finger: 2nd fret, A string
Pinky finger: 4th fret, G string
Strum all four strings.

No string rings open here, so the grip is movable: one fret up it becomes Cdim, and the same shape names a new diminished chord on every fret.

More ways to play Bdim

There are 3 common Bdim shapes: the standard one at the top of the page, plus these further up the neck. You only ever need one. Tap any card to hear it.

Bdim ukulele chord diagram, frets 4 to 7, played 4575 — Frets 4 to 7

Bdim ukulele chord diagram, frets 8 to 11, played 10 11 10 8 — Frets 8 to 11

If it buzzes or sounds dead

The pinky note on the G string is weak: The pinky holds the root at the 4th fret while the index sits at the 1st, and that is the widest stretch in the shape. Drop the thumb lower on the back of the neck to open the hand.
The 1st fret note rattles: The index is far from the other fingers and easy to place lazily. Put its tip right behind the 1st fret of the E string and check the note on its own.
The middle strings run together: The middle and ring fingers share the 2nd fret. Curl them so each stands on its own string instead of leaning into the next one.

What makes it a Bdim

B · D · F 1 ♭3 ♭5

Bdim is two minor thirds stacked: B up to D, then D up to F. B minor would reach up to F♯; the diminished chord stops one fret short, and that flat fifth between B and F is the tensest interval in music, which is why the chord cannot wait to move.

Bdim is the chord built on the seventh note of the C major scale, the only diminished chord that occurs naturally in the key of C. That makes it the one a songbook in C will actually ask for: it sits one fret below C and climbs home, doing in one chord what G7 does with four notes. B, D and F are three quarters of G7, which is why the two are interchangeable in that job.

Bdim vs Bm

Both start with B and D. Bm finishes with F♯ and sounds settled; Bdim finishes with F, one fret lower, and sounds like a held breath.

The jobs follow the sound. Bm can carry a verse. Bdim connects: a beat or two on the way to C, or a chromatic step inside a turnaround. When a chart in the key of C writes B°, this is the chord it means.

Bdim chord questions

Why does Bdim show up in so many songs in C?

It is the chord built on the seventh note of the C major scale, so it belongs to the key. It shares three of its notes with G7 and does the same job: pulling the music home to C.

What is the difference between Bdim and Bdim7?

Bdim is the three note triad: B, D, F. Bdim7 adds a diminished seventh, A♭, for a thicker four note sound. Ukulele songbooks often chart the four note grip whenever they write dim; this page is the plain triad.

What does Bdim resolve to?

C, one half step up, or C minor. The climb is the chord's whole purpose.

Is Bdim hard to play?

It uses all four fingers with a stretch from the 1st to the 4th fret, so it is one of the harder small shapes. There is no barre, and the grip slides to every other diminished chord once learned.

What does B° mean on a chart?

The small circle is the standard symbol for diminished. B°, Bdim and B diminished all name the same three notes.