The D Diminished piano chord (D – F – Ab) consists of the notes D – F and Ab.
How to play the D Diminished Chord on the piano
D Diminished Chord in root position
To play the D Diminished Chord on the piano, we need to determine the position of the right and left hands.
For the right hand, the thumb is placed on D the middle finger is positioned on the F while the little finger is used to press the Ab note.
For the left hand, it’s more or less the reverse. The thumb should be set on Ab the middle finger is placed on the F while the little finger is needed to press the D note.
D Diminished Chord inversions
First Inversion
To shift from the root position (D – F – Ab) to the first inversion (F – Ab – D) of the D Diminished Chord, follow these steps. For the right hand, move your thumb (1) to F, switch your index finger (2) to Ab and extend your pinky (5) to D.
For the left hand, the move between (D – F – Ab) and (F – Ab – D) is similar, except that we’ll continue to use the middle finger instead of the index finger: the thumb moves from Ab to D, the middle finger moves from F to Ab and the little finger goes on F.
Second Inversion
The movement between the root position (D – F – Ab) and the 2nd inversion (Ab – D – F) of the D Diminished Chord follows the exact opposite logic. The highest note (Ab) descends an octave.
Here for the right hand: move your thumb (1) to Ab, switch your middle finger (3) to D and move your pinky (5) to F.
Here for the left hand: put your left thumb (1) to F, reposition your index finger (2) on D and set your little finger (5) to Ab.