"Mighty Diminished Seventh Chords
Pack Quite A Wollup!"
Diminished seventh chords certainly have a striking sound, special appeal and unique identity. You definitely want to make them part of your chord repertoire, since you will be using them more and more as you become comfortable with them. The construction of a diminished 7th on the piano is ever so easy. Have you already become familiar with diminished triads? If not,
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to do so. Once you've got a handle on them to a point, return here. Okay, so you do indeed know how to play a diminished triad, yes? Great! Here's what to do: Play the diminished triad of your choice. My example uses C diminished:
See that key furthest to the right? In my example, it's the Gb. From that key, count up just three half steps and you'll arrive at the next note to complete your diminished 7th chord:
Play it and listen! Compare the sound of the seventh chord to the basic triad and form your own conclusions as to how different it sounds. For me, it sounds more rich, mysterious, and powerful. Those are just a few adjectives that come to mind.But wait! Did the "Bbb" throw you a bit? If so, don't fret - here's the simplified explanation: You want to call it an "A" right? Well, physically it is. But, theoretically, it is not. Why? Because chords are built in "thirds"... Notice, from C to Eb - alphabetically, that includes three letters as you count "C D Eb"... from Eb to Gb - that includes three letters as you count Eb F Gb... from Gb to A would include just two letters as you count Gb A... Soooooo, instead, we need a "B" of some kind. Therefore, we will use the enharmonic spelling alternative to "A" which is Bbb (said "B double flat")... Do you need to get "hung up" on this right now? No. It will become clearer as you proceed with your exploration of chords. Right now, let's take a look at a very peculiar characteristic of the diminished seventh chord construction... From any given note of the chord, it's just three half steps to the next note in the chord! Now, there's a quick way to construct the diminished 7th, don't you think? That's right - just decide which diminished 7th you want to play and: 1) Play that note 2) Play the next note that is three half steps higher 3) From that note, count up three half steps to the next note (so far, you've created the diminished triad) 4) Do that one more time and you have the seventh! It's perhaps easier this way than thinking of playing the triad and counting up an additional three half steps. That's up to you (same result). Because of this characteristic, the diminished seventh chord is the most symmetrical of all the other chords - it's just a "chain" of a series of "three half steps" you might say. Diminished chords are usually used to connect one chord to another, so you might say they often provide "the missing link." Actually, they make for a very smooth transition between other chords - more on this later, of course. For now, just keep in mind that this is one you definitely want to keep up your sleeve! We'll be discussing diminished seventh chords more as we proceed along our musical path!
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