Bass chord companion
Learn the A Diminished 7 chord on bass with chord tones, intervals, playable arpeggios, and fretboard maps.
Play these tones one at a time to outline the chord. The maps show the complete formula; the numbered exercises give an ascending path, including extensions in their written octave.
Standard four-string bass: E1 – A1 – D2 – G2. String 4 is low E; string 1 is high G. Fingers 1–4 are index through little finger; 0 is open. Use comfortable hand positions and shift where indicated.
A Diminished 7th complete chord-tone map around string 4, fret 5. Choose individual tones for a bass line.
Follow steps 1–4 below. Keep one hand position.
| Step | Degree | Note | String / fret | Finger | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | A1 | 4 / 5 | 3 | Fret 3 |
| 2 | b3 | C2 | 3 / 3 | 1 | Fret 3 |
| 3 | b5 | Eb2 | 3 / 6 | 4 | Fret 3 |
| 4 | bb7 | Gb2 | 2 / 4 | 2 | Fret 3 |
A Diminished 7th complete chord-tone map around string 3, fret 0. Choose individual tones for a bass line.
Follow steps 1–4 below. Keep one hand position.
| Step | Degree | Note | String / fret | Finger | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | A1 | 3 / 0 | Open | Fret 1 |
| 2 | b3 | C2 | 3 / 3 | 3 | Fret 1 |
| 3 | b5 | Eb2 | 2 / 1 | 1 | Fret 1 |
| 4 | bb7 | Gb2 | 2 / 4 | 4 | Fret 1 |
Every A Diminished 7 Chord chord tone across the neck, with roots highlighted for quick orientation.
Frets 0–24. Select a position or tap a note to hear it.
Try these progressions to hear the harmony in context. On bass, outline each chord with individual target tones.
The diminished-seventh root lies a semitone below the destination tonic. Its tones come from that tonic’s harmonic minor scale.
Borrow the leading-tone diminished seventh from the destination tonic’s parallel harmonic minor, then resolve into the major chord.
| Degree | Interval | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | A |
| b3 | m3 | C |
| b5 | d5 | Eb |
| bb7 | d7 | Gb |
1 – b3 – b5 – bb7
Compound degrees retain their names: 9, 11, and 13 are extensions. A voicing may place their pitches in a closer register.