The Solution below shows the C half-diminished 7th chord in root position, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd inversions, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef.. Many authors reinforce that there are two diminished scales: the diminished scale that we have already shown and the dominant diminished scale (or dom-dim scale). The B diminished chord (just like all diminished chords) contains the following intervals (starting from the root note): minor 3rd, minor 3rd, tritone (which leads back to the root note). Let’s build a diminished scale: C – D – Eb – F – Gb – Ab – A – B – C. Notice a few things here: this scale has eight notes!! A diminished resolves naturally to the C chord. As we will see later, you can use the C diminished scale over B7. the intervals repeat in a pattern) Because it is a symmetrical scale (and much like the diminished chord) there are only three unique diminished scales: C = E♭ = G♭ = A diminished scale The diminished chord works so well for this purpose because it contains a high amount of tension. The diminished scale is a symmetric scale formed by the sequence: Tone – Semitone – Tone – Semitone – Tone – Semitone – Tone. Even more so if you take into account cultures that use quarter-tones. See my notes on the m11♭5 chord in the next section. Formula What is the formula for the C diminished scale. Using enharmonic spellings the diminished scale will have a dim 5th and an aug 5thand is much easier to work with. Because of that it is also commonly referred to as the whole-half diminished scale. Create your own musical phrases and get fluent in this topic. The C diminished chord is produced by taking the 1 (root), b3 and b5 of the C Major scale. In most sheet music books, the notation Cdim or C o denotes a diminished seventh chord with root C; but it may also happen, mostly in modern jazz books and some music theory literature, that Cdim or C o denotes a diminished triad (more commonly denoted Cm ♭5), while Cdim 7 or C o7 in these books denotes a diminished seventh chord (corresponding to Cm 6♭5). Major 7th. Take note of the different 7th chords that each diminished mode builds. So far, no new concepts here. The below diagrams show you how to play the C Diminished chord in various positions on the fretboard with suggested finger positions.. C Diminished chord attributes: Interval positions with respect to the C major scale, notes in the chord and name variations:. C D D# F F# G# A B play notes The diminished scale used on top of G7 is the G# diminished scale (one semitone up from the dominant). This is very advantageous, as it opens up a very wide range of possibilities. Notice now that we used exactly this second sequence on top of the dominant chords, because in the previous example we played the G# diminished scale starting from the G note, that is, the structure was semitone-tone-semitone-tone, etc. Imagine that your band is playing a song that contains the chords | C | D | Em |, repeated in that sequence. There are scales that I’ll never play and scales that I’ll probably never even hear. Okay, and what’s the advantage of that? Since this scale is repeated every three semitones, let’s check the diminished scale of D#: Note that, although these two scales start on different notes (one starts in C and the other starts in D#), both have the same notes. But each person has their own preference. As you may have guessed from their names, the formula for the half-whole diminished scale is up a half step or semi-tone, then up a whole step or tone. Then the student thinks: “Why am I going to waste time memorizing this scale if I will never use it?” And this is absolutely right! Here i… Unlike other scales which contain seven notes, these scales contain eight notes. In this case, the tonic (fundamental) of the dominant chord is played (that is, the scale starts with that note) and then the diminished scale is played a semitone above that tonic. Shapes. An altered scale on C contains the notes: * C (root), * D♭ (minor ninth) * D♯ (augmented ninth) * E (major third) * F♯ (augmented eleventh) or G♭ (diminished fifth) * G♯ (augmented fifth) or A♭ (minor thirteenth) * B♭ (minor seventh). I want to focus on the diminished modes that come from the Melodic & Harmonic minor scales. Major 2nd. Hence “octatonic”! Diminished Scale Theory: How Is It Used? We will see this concept applied in the examples. If the G7 chord resolved in a chord other than C, we would have a deceptive resolution. Intervals What intervals are in the C diminished scale. Songtive is based on user feedback from Piano Companion and Chord Progression builder. This should not be strange, after all it is the diminished scale that forms the diminished chord. Minor 3rd. In the C Diminished Scale this would be C - Eb - Gb - A (Cdim7) and D - F - Ab - B (Ddim7). The diminished scale is an eight note scale. We especially recommend that you play the diminished arpeggio in this case, to strengthen this impression that there is a diminished chord there. To help you visualize how the diminished scale is constructed, here is a chart that lays out the interval structure for this scale. Therefore, the expected chord to resolve this tension is the C chord, which contains these two notes found (C and E, first and third degrees of the chord, respectively). Combine two minor tetrachords a tritone apart (a tetrachord is a 4-note scale, and a minor tetrachord is basically the first 4 notes of the Dorian minor mode, so for example, combine the first 4 notes of a C- scale with the first 4 notes of an F#- scale) We are breaking the rule of key signatures: there are an A AND an Ab in it! ©2014-2020 All Rights Reserved - Simplifying Theory. This is one of the advantages. it has 8 notes) A Symmetrical Scale (i.e. View tab @ http://www.freeguitarvideos.com/LJ3/c-diminished-scale.html we will learn about the C Diminished Scale. Again, once this shape is under your fingers, put on a G7b9 backing track and solo using both the 6th and 5th-string shifting shapes as you take these scales to the improvising side of your practice routine. playNode.addEventListener('click', function (event) { It could remind you of something you’ve heard bef… This is written below in musical notation with the essential chordtones coloured black and the non-essential altered chordtones coloured red. event.preventDefault(); Diminished 7th. var playNode = document.getElementById('playSemitones686960068'); See an example of shape for the dimished scale of C below. This will facilitate logic. Major 6th. Since B is one semitone below C, we can think that the diminished scale to be used is located one semitone below the chord that the dominant will resolve in. Another application of this scale, in addition to being able to be played over the diminished chord and the dominant chord as we have already seen, is the application over a “virtual diminished chord”. In the same way that we observed for the diminished chord, the diminished scale is repeated every three semitones. F# is the root of F#dim; B is the root of Bdim, and so on. The diminished scale is a type of 8-note symmetrical scale. Follow the logic: Since this scale is repeated every three semitones, we can think about playing it starting from others degrees. There are really only 3 diminished scales – C, C#, and D. When we build the scale starting on D# we get the same scale as the C diminished scale, as it is just an inversion of the C diminished scale. Minor 6th. Imagine that you are improvising a solo in a song that is in C major, that is, you are using the C major scale. It can be played a semitone above the dominant chord in question. In other words, learn the scale construction first before getting bogged down with fingerings. We will explain this concept. Chord vi, A minor consists of the notes, A – C – E. A minor seventh consists of the note, A – C – E – G. Lastly, chord vii°, B diminished consists of the notes, B – D – F, while B minor seventh flat five consists of the notes, B – D – F – A. The most common application of the diminished scale is in the dominant chord. It’s common to see the diminished triad and the half-diminished 7th chords (m7♭5), but the m11♭5 is rarely seen. It’s an eight note or octatonic scale that alternates between half-steps and whole-steps. An Octatonic Scale (i.e. The B diminished chord is produced by taking the 1 (root), b3 and b5 of the B Major scale. Your band is playing a song that contains the notes C, we are the! 3Rd, 5th, 6th, a m7th, and What ’ s right, ’. Wide range of possibilities ( m7♭5 ), b3 and b5 of the ). 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