Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Learn how to play and use diminished chords on piano and discover how these powerful chords can add tension, movement, and color to your playing.
In this tutorial, diminished chords are explained from both a theoretical and practical perspective.
If you've ever wondered how to play diminished chords or how to use diminished chords on piano in real music, this lesson breaks everything down step by step so you can understand the sound and start applying it immediately.
Tom begins by showing how diminished chords are built, looking at their interval structure which will help you recognize diminished chords easily and incorporate them naturally into your chords piano playing.
Next, Tom demonstrates how to use diminished chords on piano in real musical contexts. One of the most powerful uses of diminished harmony is modulation, where diminished chords help smoothly transition from one key to another.
To help you internalize the sound and technique, Tom also provides a series of chords practice piano drills and chord exercises piano designed specifically for diminished harmony. These exercises will strengthen your understanding of diminished chords while also improving your technique.
Some of the exercises focus on finger independence exercises, helping each finger develop control while moving through different diminished chord shapes.
By the end of the tutorial, you’ll understand how to play and use diminished chords on piano, how they function in harmony, and how to practice them effectively so they become a natural part of your musical vocabulary.
—————————————————————————
VIDEO BREAKDOWN:
00:00 Introduction
00:40 What are diminished chords?
04:35 Chords in context
08:45 Chord exercises
13:18 Slash chords
17:05 Chopin and Liszt
19:14 Double octave exercise
21:26 Warming exercise
—————————————————————————
👇 If you would like to learn Bohemian Rhapsody, watch this tutorial next:
youtube.com/watch?v=_vWGANVqXyA&list=PLDqNslPG6e1IwVxeyIiIdbKZR_iOG3nZw&index=31
🎁 Claim your FREE gift - RESOURCES PACK - by getting in touch with us at London Contemporary School of Piano so that we can help you solve your challenges and accelerate you progress at the piano:
contemporaryschoolofpiano.com
🎓 Get Your GROOVE COURSE to access all the resources you need to master piano grooves and expand your piano groove vocabulary:
lcsp.samcart.com/products/groove-mastery-everyday
🎓 Join our Flagship Course, THE COMPLETE MUSICIAN COURSE with Tom Donald:
contemporaryschoolofpiano.com/the-complete-musician
🔔 If you enjoyed this piano chords tutorial on diminished chords and would like to get more top tips on learning piano, make sure to SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel right here:
youtube.com/channel/UCZWqaBf6VLuD0cSKF4cukPg?sub_confirmation=1
Credits:
Filmed by Josh Adams.
Edited by BUBI Productions & Charlie Coe.
youtu.be/XQmN_yVQfsE
#londoncontemporaryschoolofpiano #diminishedchords #pianotutorial
Learn how to play and use diminished chords on piano and discover how these powerful chords can add tension, movement, and color to your playing.
In this tutorial, diminished chords are explained from both a theoretical and practical perspective.
If you've ever wondered how to play diminished chords or how to use diminished chords on piano in real music, this lesson breaks everything down step by step so you can understand the sound and start applying it immediately.
Tom begins by showing how diminished chords are built, looking at their interval structure which will help you recognize diminished chords easily and incorporate them naturally into your chords piano playing.
Next, Tom demonstrates how to use diminished chords on piano in real musical contexts. One of the most powerful uses of diminished harmony is modulation, where diminished chords help smoothly transition from one key to another.
To help you internalize the sound and technique, Tom also provides a series of chords practice piano drills and chord exercises piano designed specifically for diminished harmony. These exercises will strengthen your understanding of diminished chords while also improving your technique.
Some of the exercises focus on finger independence exercises, helping each finger develop control while moving through different diminished chord shapes.
By the end of the tutorial, you’ll understand how to play and use diminished chords on piano, how they function in harmony, and how to practice them effectively so they become a natural part of your musical vocabulary.
—————————————————————————
VIDEO BREAKDOWN:
00:00 Introduction
00:40 What are diminished chords?
04:35 Chords in context
08:45 Chord exercises
13:18 Slash chords
17:05 Chopin and Liszt
19:14 Double octave exercise
21:26 Warming exercise
—————————————————————————
👇 If you would like to learn Bohemian Rhapsody, watch this tutorial next:
youtube.com/watch?v=_vWGANVqXyA&list=PLDqNslPG6e1IwVxeyIiIdbKZR_iOG3nZw&index=31
🎁 Claim your FREE gift - RESOURCES PACK - by getting in touch with us at London Contemporary School of Piano so that we can help you solve your challenges and accelerate you progress at the piano:
contemporaryschoolofpiano.com
🎓 Get Your GROOVE COURSE to access all the resources you need to master piano grooves and expand your piano groove vocabulary:
lcsp.samcart.com/products/groove-mastery-everyday
🎓 Join our Flagship Course, THE COMPLETE MUSICIAN COURSE with Tom Donald:
contemporaryschoolofpiano.com/the-complete-musician
🔔 If you enjoyed this piano chords tutorial on diminished chords and would like to get more top tips on learning piano, make sure to SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel right here:
youtube.com/channel/UCZWqaBf6VLuD0cSKF4cukPg?sub_confirmation=1
Credits:
Filmed by Josh Adams.
Edited by BUBI Productions & Charlie Coe.
youtu.be/XQmN_yVQfsE
#londoncontemporaryschoolofpiano #diminishedchords #pianotutorial
