G°7

Character: suspense

  1. GRtriad
  2. B♭♭3triad
  3. D♭♭5triad
  4. F♭𝄫7add
Voicings

8 ways to play G°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 G°7/F♭
6 7 8 9 10 R ♭5 ♭3 𝄫7

Frets x 7 8 6 8 xNotes F♭ B♭ D♭ GIntervals 𝄫7 ♭3 ♭5 1Base triadG diminished, 1st inversion

The 𝄫7th gets a string of its own.

CC shape 2nd inversion G°7/D♭
7 8 9 10 𝄫7 ♭3 R ♭5 ♭5 R

Frets 9 10 8 9 8 9Notes D♭ G B♭ F♭Intervals ♭5 1 ♭3 𝄫7Base triadG diminished, 2nd inversion

The 𝄫7th gets a string of its own.

AA shape 2nd inversion G°7/D♭
10 11 12 13 𝄫7 ♭3 R ♭5

Frets x x 11 12 11 12Notes D♭ G B♭ F♭Intervals ♭5 1 ♭3 𝄫7Base triadG diminished, 2nd inversion

The 𝄫7th gets a string of its own.

AA shape 2nd inversion AnchoredG°7
9 10 11 12 R ♭3 𝄫7 ♭5 R

Frets x 10 11 9 11 xNotes G D♭ F♭ B♭Intervals 1 ♭5 𝄫7 ♭3Base triadG diminished, 2nd inversion

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

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

Frets x x 2 3 2 3Notes F♭ B♭ D♭ GIntervals 𝄫7 ♭3 ♭5 1Base triadG diminished, 1st inversion

The 𝄫7th gets a string of its own.

EE shape 2nd inversion G°7/D♭
1 2 3 4 5 𝄫7 ♭3 R ♭5 R R

Frets 3 4 5 3 5 3Notes D♭ G B♭ F♭Intervals ♭5 1 ♭3 𝄫7Base triadG diminished, 2nd inversion

The 𝄫7th gets a string of its own.

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

Frets 3 4 2 3 x xNotes G D♭ F♭ B♭Intervals 1 ♭5 𝄫7 ♭3Base triadG diminished, 2nd inversion

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

DD shape 2nd inversion AnchoredG°7
5 6 7 8 R ♭3 𝄫7 ♭5 R

Frets x x 5 6 5 6Notes G D♭ F♭ B♭Intervals 1 ♭5 𝄫7 ♭3Base triadG diminished, 2nd inversion

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

The rules

The construction rules G°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

G°7 chord questions

What notes are in G°7?

G°7 is spelled G B♭ D♭ F♭: G is the root, B♭ is the ♭3rd, D♭ is the ♭5th, F♭ is the 𝄫7th.

What is the formula of G°7?

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

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

This page shows 8 voicings of G°7, filed under the five CAGED shapes and named by inversion, from the open position up to the 16th fret.