In a diminished triad, the middle and top two notes of the chord—called the third and the fifth — are flattened (lowered a half step). It is indicated by the symbol "o" or "dim." For example, the G triad based on a major scale is formed by playing G (the root note), B (the third note), and D (the fifth note).
A diminished chord is a triad built from the root note, minor third, and a diminished fifth. It's a chord with two minor thirds above the root. Meaning three semitones separate the third and fifth notes of the chord. Therefore, a diminished C triad has the notes C, Eb, and Gb.
In music theory, a diminished triad (also known as the minor flatted fifth) is a triad consisting of two minor thirds above the root. It is a minor triad with a lowered (flattened) fifth. When using chord symbols, it may be indicated by the symbols "dim", "o", "mâ™5", or "MI".
Notes in B dim. B - D - F - G# (Ab) The diminished chord is a triad with two minor thirds, or a minor third and a diminished fifth, which gives us an unstable chord, which needs to be resolved to another chord.
I To resolve a diminished 7th chord, the leading tone (which is the root) must resolve up. The rest of the chord members resolve down. There is a little flexibility with the third of the chord to resolve up if needed. A vii°7 chord is made up entirely of stacked minor 3rds.
Because of their symmetry, there are only 3 diminished scales and only 2 whole tone scales! Each of the 3 diminished pitch collection (scales) can start (and end) on 8 different notes, corresponding to eight different chords (4 diminished chords and 4 “7(b9)†or “13(b9)†chords).
Diminished chords have a slightly dissonant sonority to them, but they are not supposed to sound 'bad' they are supposed to be use to facilitate tension and release.
The diminished scale is a symmetric scale formed by the sequence: Tone – Semitone – Tone – Semitone – Tone – Semitone – Tone. In the same way that we observed for the diminished chord, the diminished scale is repeated every three semitones.
Heptatonic. The heptatonic, or seven-note, conception of the blues scale is as a diatonic scale (a major scale) with lowered third, fifth, and seventh degrees, which is equivalent to the dorian â™5 scale, the second mode of the harmonic major scale.
The
half diminished scale or Sisyphean
Scale is a seven-note musical
scale.
Half diminished scale.
| Component pitches |
|---|
| Forte number | 7-34 |
| Complement | 5-34 |
The whole half diminished scale also known as "Fully Diminished Scale" is an eight-tone scale, built by alternating whole steps and half steps, hence its name. It is used over diminished seventh chords (dim7). In other words, C, Eb, Gb and A diminished scales contain the same notes.
The Diminished ScaleBecause it is a symmetrical scale (and much like the diminished chord) there are only three unique diminished scales: C = Eâ™ = Gâ™ = A diminished scale. Dâ™ = E = G = Bâ™ diminished scale. D = F = Aâ™ = B diminished scale.
The minor scale is created with a formula, just like the major scale. The formula for the minor scale is whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole. This formula is the same sequence as the major scale formula, but it begins on a different note.
The formula for creating a major scale is “whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half.â€
The Diminished Scale is built upon two diminished seventh chords. In the C Diminished Scale this would be C - Eb - Gb - A (Cdim7) and D - F - Ab - B (Ddim7). This scale is primarily used in jazz music and works well together with alternate seventh chords.
The diminished seventh chord normally possesses a dominant function, and this is most straightforwardly shown when the root of a dominant seventh chord is omitted. Thus, in C (major or minor), a dominant seventh chord consisting of G–B–D–F can be replaced by a diminished seventh chord B–D–F–Aâ™.
Notice that there are two tritones in the diminished seventh chord, formed by the root and diminished fifth notes as well as the minor third and diminished seventh notes. This makes the diminished seventh chord sound extremely dissonant, even more so than the dominant seventh chord.
Of all the seventh chords, perhaps the most important is the dominant seventh. It was the first seventh chord to appear regularly in classical music. The name comes from the fact that the flat seventh occurs naturally in the chord built upon the dominant (i.e., the fifth degree) of a given major diatonic scale.
The F# diminished chord contains the notes F#, A and C. The F sharp diminished chord is produced by taking the 1 (root), b3 and b5 of the F sharp Major scale. F# diminished resolves naturally to the G chord. F# diminished can be written as F# dim or F#°.
To build a diminished triad, first
find the root note of the chord. The root is always the note that's the basis for the chord. For example, the root note for a Ddim chord is D. Next, count three semitones to find the third note of the scale.
The diminished triad chord consists of a:
- Root Note.
- Minor 3rd.
- Diminished 5th.
The B diminished 7th chord contains 4 notes: B, D, F, Ab. The chord spelling / formula relative to the B major scale is: 1 b3 b5 bb7.
This is a 3rd inversion chord, with the 7th in the bass. The interval of a 4th refers to the 3rd of the chord, and the interval of a 2nd refers to the root. If this were a G7 chord, it would be spelled F-G-B-D.
It is a diatonic chord based on the 7th scale degree of the major scale (B half-dim: B D F A). Half diminished chords are formed by R b3 b5 b7, if you look at the intervals between them you'll get a minor 3rd, another minor 3rd and a major 3rd. While the fully dimished has 3 minor 3rd intervals.
Chord symbols and terminology
Normally a symbol like "Bdim" indicates a diminished triad and "B7" indicates a major triad plus a minor seventh. Instead, it means a diminished triad plus a diminished seventh. To make this distinction clear, the term "half-diminished" and the ø symbol (ø) were invented.
