Diminished chords can add an air of melancholy or tragedy to a piece. Used strategically as transitions between two chords, they can also bring about feelings of resolution.
Flat diminished triads (Bb dim) can be created by lowering both of the third and fifth notes by half steps in any major triad, producing the flat diminished triad (FDT).
The root note
Root: the lowest note in a diminished chord that is deduced from its key signature; in triads it can also be known as fifth; it can be constructed using any note from any scale as its foundation; its qualities (major, minor, diminished and augmented) depend upon intervals between its root, third and fifth notes.
Flattening the root of a diminished chord produces a half-diminished chord (bVII). This chord sounds similar to a major seventh chord with its root flattened, yet has less dissonant qualities; thus creating tension and adding interest to compositions harmonic progressions.
A diminished triad can be built in several different ways, each producing its own distinct sound. One approach uses a Major 3rd and Minor 5th above the root for a C diminished chord which may also be written as Cdim or Cmdim; an alternate method combines Major 3rds, major 6ths, and minor 7ths in order to produce D diminished chords (sometimes written Cdim7 or Cm7)
Before beginning to construct your own triads, it is crucial that you understand their construction. When creating a triad, it is necessary to take note of its key signature notes as well as any accidentals applicable – for instance if the root chord of your diminished chord is D, adding an accidental sharp sign to its key signature in order to prevent misplaced sharps or flats in its construction will help ensure success.
One effective way of understanding triad construction rules is drawing them on staff paper and practicing making them with your fingers. Begin by drawing a root at the bottom line, adding generic third and fifth notes above it (as if drawing a snowperson), until your complete the triangle. This compact form represents a triad.
The third note
A diminished triad is comprised of the 1st, minor third and diminished fifth notes in any scale. The minor third is half-step smaller than its perfect fifth counterpart to create its characteristic weak sound; unlike expansive chords such as augmented chords which tend to sound expansively. Diminished triads offer more compact yet intimate sound–they can add tension or sadness to a chord progression or be used between melodic triads for transition.
As part of learning diminished triads, it’s essential to know how they’re constructed from root to fifth. This process can be achieved easily by counting three semitones (a key signature below the staff line) before moving up one note for root, down one for third and moving up again for fifth – an easily remembered formula in music theory that works for creating all diminished triads.
Diminished chords can add depth and drama to a song, but it’s essential that they be used effectively. To start exploring their potential use in your progressions, experiment with replacing V chords in major or minor progressions with diminished seventh chords for an exciting change – adding tension while developing more mature sounds in your chord sequence.
No matter whether you specialize in jazz, classical or rock music, learning the fundamentals of diminished chords is an invaluable asset to your repertoire. These simple chords can easily be learned, making your repertoire stronger than ever – with practice, you will soon be using diminished chords in any genre of music!
Each triad chord quality is represented with its own chord symbol. Major triads are depicted with capital letters; minor ones feature lowercase “mi”, while diminished and augmented triads use superscript circles (o) or the + sign instead. Because these chord symbols remain consistent across major and minor keys, memorizing them will prove invaluable in developing musical proficiency.
The fifth note
As is well-known, triads possess specific properties corresponding to their scale degree. For example, major, minor, diminished, and augmented qualities may vary according to which interval connects root note to third note and fifth note respectively. Furthermore, each triad features its own set of symmetrical inversions such as Do (1)(1)’s set which has three minor third inversions at 1, 3, 6, 9 etc based on fact that minor thirds always return back to root note.
Flat diminished triads are less dense and sparse than their regular diminished counterparts, and have more dissonant sounds that add tension and drama to music.
Diminished seventh chords can be found across many musical styles and are employed frequently as passing chords between mediant triad and supertonic triad. One example would be Noel Gallagher’s song Almost There which starts on G major before moving through G diminished and A minor in its chord progression.
Another way of producing a diminished seventh is to lower the sixth note by two semitones or tones – something evident in Adele and The Beatles chord progressions, for instance.
When writing a diminished seventh chord, it’s essential to remember its name derives from its root. Therefore, before detailing inversions or notes for that chord inversion or note change, write out its root in its key and add letter symbols for each of its inversions or notes.
As it’s essential that we all understand, it is also crucial that we comprehend the concept of diminishing and augmenting, with diminishing being defined as lower by half-step and augmenting being raised by half step respectively – in written music this would be represented using an enharmonic notation like “bb”.
The sixth note
As its name implies, diminished seventh chords are composed of seven notes that have been flattened by six steps, creating an interval that is more narrow than that of a minor sixth and therefore perceived to be less consonant – hence its designation as “diminished”.
Flattened diminished seventh chords are four note mediant chords used as passing chords between dominant and supertonic triads in jazz music and Brazilian genres such as choro, samba and bossa nova.
Diminished sevenths can add an air of poignancy and sadness. While these chords don’t resolve as easily as major or minor chords, their dissonant quality creates tension and can add a feeling of instability and ambiguity that adds dimension and texture.
Reduced sevenths can also serve to connect chords. A C diminished seventh can serve as a bridge between C major and D minor chords; adding an F# diminished triad will add further harmony, providing a sense of resolution.
Formula for a flattened diminished seventh is 1 – 3 – 5 – 6 – G as you can see on the diagram, but it would be beneficial to think of these triads using key signatures as opposed to formulae; that way you’d know which note constitutes its chord root before applying formula accordingly.
For example, to create a flat diminished seventh we would need to double-flatten the sixth (Fb). Since a seventh is one half step lower than a sixth it becomes necessary to invert this chord structure with Gb Bb Fb E D as chord inversions.
A flat diminished triad can add tension to a phrase by placing its chord half step below your target note; this will create an impressively dramatic effect, ideal for ending phrases or pieces of music. Be sure to play around with different chord combinations until you find what works for your music and you.