F°7

Character: suspense

  1. FRtriad
  2. A♭♭3triad
  3. C♭♭5triad
  4. E𝄫𝄫7add
Voicings

9 ways to play F°7

Every voicing sits inside one of the five CAGED shapes, low to high on the neck, with its octave doublings in grey.

  • Triad note
  • Substitute
  • Added
  • Anchored root
  • Bass
  • Doubling
CC shape 3rd inversion F°7/E𝄫
4 5 6 7 8 R ♭5 ♭3 𝄫7

Frets x 5 6 4 6 xNotes E𝄫 A♭ C♭ FIntervals 𝄫7 ♭3 ♭5 1Base triadF diminished, 1st inversion

The 𝄫7th gets a string of its own.

CC shape 2nd inversion F°7/C♭
5 6 7 8 𝄫7 ♭3 R ♭5 ♭5 ♭5

Frets 7 8 6 7 0 7Notes C♭ F A♭ E𝄫Intervals ♭5 1 ♭3 𝄫7Base triadF diminished, 2nd inversion

The 𝄫7th gets a string of its own.

AA shape 2nd inversion F°7/C♭
8 9 10 11 𝄫7 ♭3 R ♭5

Frets x x 9 10 9 10Notes C♭ F A♭ E𝄫Intervals ♭5 1 ♭3 𝄫7Base triadF diminished, 2nd inversion

The 𝄫7th gets a string of its own.

AA shape 2nd inversion AnchoredF°7
7 8 9 10 R ♭3 𝄫7 ♭5 R

Frets x 8 9 7 9 xNotes F C♭ E𝄫 A♭Intervals 1 ♭5 𝄫7 ♭3Base triadF diminished, 2nd inversion

The root drops to the string below the triad. The 𝄫7th takes the root’s string.

GG shape 3rd inversion F°7/E𝄫
9 10 11 12 13 R ♭5 ♭3 𝄫7

Frets 10 11 9 10 x xNotes E𝄫 A♭ C♭ FIntervals 𝄫7 ♭3 ♭5 1Base triadF diminished, 1st inversion

The 𝄫7th gets a string of its own.

EE shape 3rd inversion F°7/E𝄫
1 2 3 4 R ♭5 ♭3 𝄫7

Frets x x 0 1 0 1Notes E𝄫 A♭ C♭ FIntervals 𝄫7 ♭3 ♭5 1Base triadF diminished, 1st inversion

The 𝄫7th gets a string of its own.

EE shape 2nd inversion F°7/C♭
1 2 3 4 𝄫7 ♭3 R ♭5 R R

Frets 1 2 3 1 3 1Notes C♭ F A♭ E𝄫Intervals ♭5 1 ♭3 𝄫7Base triadF diminished, 2nd inversion

The 𝄫7th gets a string of its own.

EE shape 2nd inversion AnchoredF°7
1 2 3 4 R ♭3 𝄫7 ♭5 R R ♭5

Frets 1 2 0 1 0 1Notes F C♭ E𝄫 A♭Intervals 1 ♭5 𝄫7 ♭3Base triadF diminished, 2nd inversion

The root drops to the string below the triad. The 𝄫7th takes the root’s string.

DD shape 2nd inversion AnchoredF°7
3 4 5 6 R ♭3 𝄫7 ♭5 R

Frets x x 3 4 3 4Notes F C♭ E𝄫 A♭Intervals 1 ♭5 𝄫7 ♭3Base triadF diminished, 2nd inversion

The root drops to the string below the triad. The 𝄫7th takes the root’s string.

The rules

The construction rules F°7 follows

  1. Start from a triad

    Root, 3rd and 5th, stacked in thirds. The 3rd makes it major or minor; the 5th makes it diminished or augmented when it moves.

  2. A third on top makes a 7th chord

    A major 7th over a major triad is maj7, a ♭7 is a dominant 7. Over minor you get m7 or m(maj7); over diminished, m7♭5 or the °7, whose 7th is lowered twice.

  3. On guitar, something has to give

    Each extension takes the string of a triad note that matters less, usually the 5th, or gets a string of its own. The root and 3rd stay: they say what the chord is.

  4. The root can move down

    When an extension needs the root’s string, the root can drop to the string below the triad: an anchored voicing keeps the bass and frees a string on top.

All the rules, with examples, in the guide to the chord library.

Diminished 7th in every key

F°7 chord questions

What notes are in F°7?

F°7 is spelled F A♭ C♭ E𝄫: F is the root, A♭ is the ♭3rd, C♭ is the ♭5th, E𝄫 is the 𝄫7th.

What is the formula of F°7?

1 ♭3 ♭5 𝄫7. It is a F diminished triad with the 𝄫7th stacked on top.

How many ways can you play F°7 on guitar?

This page shows 9 voicings of F°7, filed under the five CAGED shapes and named by inversion, from the open position up to the 16th fret.