Diminished Chords/Scales

[cassanova]

What exactly makes a diminished chord/scale a diminished? I was reading about these and it didnt specify what made it one, and itd be really nice if I knew what they exactly were so I could broaden my knowledge a bit more. Thanks in advance

[Christopher]

To turn a major scale into a diminished, substitute a minor third, diminished fifth and diminished seventh. The intervals between all of the altered notes is a minor third, eg. C, Eb, Gb, Bbb.

Note that each note in a diminished seventh chord can serve as the root of the chord (you have to fool around with note names, but they sound the same), eg. C, Eb, Gb, Bbb = Eb, Gb, Bbb, Dbb.

[JimK]

Cassie-
Nice win, pal! Priest Holmes!?

BTW, so that you know Chris' typewriter didn't stutter...
When FLATTED(lowered a 1/2 step), only a Perfect 4th & a Perfect 5th become diminished.
When you flat(lowered a 1/2 step)the remaining intervals(2nd, 3rd, 6th, & 7th), they become minor.
To diminish those, they need to be flatted 2x(double-flatted). That's why you'll see a Bbb(for example).

[cassanova]

I think I got a rough Idea of what your talking about now, thanks a bunch.


I won??? I didnt check yet. But TY, I got lucky with Priest, I found him in the free agent rosters, and noticed he rushed for 160 yds the game prior, so i figured what the hell, and picked him up, im really glad i did, because my other RB's arent doing a thing for me. BTW are you the guy I just beat....lol

[jazzbo]

If you get your hands on a copy of the Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music they have an excellent definition of INTERVALS that explains this better then I've ever seen. It really helps you see the intervals and analyze them, which will help you build chords and scales very quickly in your head.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Originally posted by cassanova
What exactly makes a diminished chord/scale a diminished?

NOVACHASSIS,


The diminished SCALE (as opposed to the chord) is nothing more than an alternating series of half and whole steps:

C, Db, Eb, E, F#, G, A, Bb, C
..h....W...h...W..h...W..h..W..

(depending on the function, this scale can also be spelled starting with a whole step and then alternating...)

Since the entire scale is symmetrical, there are only really three different diminished scales: Cdim, C#dim, and Ddim.....the other nine "keys" are just inversions of these three.


Interestingly, another way to think of any diminished scale is to think of two diminished chords a half-step apart superimposed over each other:

Cdim = C, Eb, F#, A
C#dim=C#, E, G, Bb

Put them together and you have the original scale from above. Weird, huh?

[cassanova]

Originally posted by jazzbo
If you get your hands on a copy of the Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music they have an excellent definition of INTERVALS that explains this better then I've ever seen. It really helps you see the intervals and analyze them, which will help you build chords and scales very quickly in your head.

thanks jazzbo, I havent seen this book you speak of, but then again I havent really looked for it, Next time I go to a music store or even the library, Ill keep an eye open for it and possibly get it.

Originally posted by Chris Fitzgerald



NOVACHASSIS,


The diminished SCALE (as opposed to the chord) is nothing more than an alternating series of half and whole steps:

C, Db, Eb, E, F#, G, A, Bb, C
..h....W...h...W..h...W..h..W..

(depending on the function, this scale can also be spelled starting with a whole step and then alternating...)

Since the entire scale is symmetrical, there are only really three different diminished scales: Cdim, C#dim, and Ddim.....the other nine "keys" are just inversions of these three.


Interestingly, another way to think of any diminished scale is to think of two diminished chords a half-step apart superimposed over each other:

Cdim = C, Db, F#, A
C#dim=C#, E, G, Bb

Put them together and you have the original scale from above. Weird, huh?

lol...took me a second to get what ya meant on my name, that confused me more than the theory lesson you explained.

thanks for breakin this all down for me, I kinda get it and kinda dont, but if i keep at it, ill be able to 100% understand it all.

thanks alot to all of ya'll for explaining this and turning me on to some new method books. I truly do apreciate it. This is what too many years using tabs will do to a person.

[SuperDuck]

Originally posted by Chris Fitzgerald
The diminished SCALE (as opposed to the chord) is nothing more than an alternating series of half and whole steps:

C, Db, Eb, E, F#, G, A, Bb, C
..h....W...h...W..h...W..h..W..

Wow... that makes it so easy to remember...

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Originally posted by Phil Smith
FITZCARALDO:



Typo,

Cdim = C, Eb, F#, A

DOH!

Don't you just love it when you make a really stupid mistake like that in a post and then 47 people quote it in reply?

I fixed it in the original post...If anybody who quoted that post wouldn't mind editing my UNDERSIGHT in that post to an Eb, I'd be much obliged. DOH!