Simple chord progression analysis help

[AndyPanda]

To my ears from memory it's a simple D minor triad (D F G) and the D goes chromatically down so the first four chords are just the third and fifth of the Dmin while the bass descends like this: DFA DbFA CFA BFA
then the next chord is G/Bb and then a sus type chord that's A in the bass with (A)DEG that resolves (A)C#EG

These types of progressions make sense to my ear by looking at them as voicings rather than as chord names ... so that's why I spelled out the notes in the chords rather than calling them by name. Also I am an ear player so I rarely think of the names of chords -- I'm always thinking in terms of how the voicing sounds to my ear:

EDIT: just noticed that @Febs nailed it for you already while I was making my sloppy video I'm not trying to actually play the tune - just show a simplified way of looking at it so the progression makes sense (at least visually on the keyboard it makes sense that way).

 

[JimmyM]

It's different in the actual song, this progression is just what I came up with to practice the Dm7 - Bdim transition. The 2nd / 4th stanza of each verse goes Dm, Dm7, Bdim, Gm7, Dm7, Gm, A7 then back to the Dm for the next stanza. So the bonus question is for the original tune, describing how that Bdim fits in the overall D minor scheme of the verse.

The only note that wouldn't fit neatly into the Dm motif is the G# since Bdim is B-D-F-G#. But don't worry about it...it fits because you put it there. Don't worry about fitting it neatly into the box. All that matters is if it sounds good. Theory exists to explain what we did, not to tell us what to do

 

[Febs]

sus type chord that's A in the bass with (A)DEG that resolves (A)DbEG

That's a C#, not a Db. It's an A7 chord.

 

[AndyPanda]

That's a C#, not a Db. It's an A7 chord.

Like I said - I play by ear and don't think of chord names or key signatures. ignorance is bliss
Edit: but thanks -- it would be good for me to learn the lingo someday (I'm 65 so pretty set in my bad habits)

 

[Febs]

Like I said - I play by ear and don't think of chord names or key signatures. ignorance is bliss

 

[AndyPanda]

Tom Scott once told me that he asked Joni Mitchell what chord she was playing and she said "Ignorance is Bliss". Yeah - it drives everyone around me nuts when I can't tell them what key I'm playing in but it's just the way my brain is wired.

 

[JimmyM]

Tom Scott once told me that he asked Joni Mitchell what chord she was playing and she said "Ignorance is Bliss". Yeah - it drives everyone around me nuts when I can't tell them what key I'm playing in but it's just the way my brain is wired.

Probably drove Tom Scott nuts, too

 

[AndyPanda]

Probably drove Tom Scott nuts, too

Maybe but he wasn't saying it as being irritated - he seemed to be marveling at it - or maybe I choose to take it that way. Anyway he wasn't rolling his eyes when he said it.

 

[JimmyM]

Maybe but he wasn't saying it as being irritated - he seemed to be marveling at it - or maybe I choose to take it that way. Anyway he wasn't rolling his eyes when he said it.

Well I guess if Joni Mitchell was paying me triple scale, I wouldn't be so irritated, either

 

[craigie]

The only note that wouldn't fit neatly into the Dm motif is the G# since Bdim is B-D-F-G#. But don't worry about it...it fits because you put it there. Don't worry about fitting it neatly into the box. All that matters is if it sounds good. Theory exists to explain what we did, not to tell us what to do

G# would be the diminished 7th of Bdim7 (maybe it’s Ab actually). Bdim is B-D-F.

It’s interesting how the upper three notes of a dominant 7 chord form a diminished triad. I’ve been doing ear training lately at tonedear.com, which is a great site, and sometimes get fooled because I hear the diminished part of the dominant chord.

 

[JimmyM]

G# would be the diminished 7th of Bdim7 (maybe it’s Ab actually). Bdim is B-D-F.

The vast majority of the time, when someone writes a diminished chord, they mean diminished 7th chord. It's a well accepted convention in sheet music to go ahead and play the 7th. But since the dim 7 is a double flatted 7th, it's probably a little more correct to write Ab in this case, although I consider it nitpicking

It’s interesting how the upper three notes of a dominant 7 chord form a diminished triad. I’ve been doing ear training lately at tonedear.com, which is a great site, and sometimes get fooled because I hear the diminished part of the dominant chord.

Yep. Now what's really fun is when you have 7th chord with an added flat 9th...best of both worlds

 

[Febs]

THERE IS NO B DIM IN THIS SONG.

 

[JimmyM]

THERE IS NO B DIM IN THIS SONG.

Sorry. I was taking bholder at his word...

"I came up with a little chord progression I came up with just to practice some position transitions for a song I'm working on on guitar (Jim Croce's "Time In A Bottle")..."

I'll know better than to do that from now on.

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

The vast majority of the time, when someone writes a diminished chord, they mean diminished 7th chord. It's a well accepted convention in sheet music to go ahead and play the 7th. But since the dim 7 is a double flatted 7th, it's probably a little more correct to write Ab in this case, although I consider it nitpicking


Yep. Now what's really fun is when you have 7th chord with an added flat 9th...best of both worlds

That's the fun part with dim(7) chords when you're a bassplayer. Add a tone a halfstep under any chordtone and you get a dominant 7 with b9 (B dim (B, D, F, Ab) = add Bb in the bass = Bb7(b9), add G in the bass = G7(b9). Helpful when analysing the function of the chords. In this case the B dim would function as a V7 chord leading to I, just without the basstone, making it a stock standard II - V - I - VI in the key of C (Dmi7 - G7(b9) - Cma7 - A7).

 

[Febs]

Sorry. I was taking bholder at his word...

I think bholder was misled by mistakes in the chart. The chord chart posted earlier shows a Bb triad voiced D Bb D F (see the picture attached to my last post), but incorrectly labels that a "B-" instead of a Bb (maybe whoever made the chord chart incorrectly used the minus sign instead of a flat symbol). @bholder called it a B dim, which I can understand given the confusing chart, but I think the actual chord there is a Gmin6.

Edit: But @JimmyM, you're right that @bholder did ask about a different progression in his original post and the progression he asked about contains a Bdim, and that's an interesting discussion in its own right. Sorry about that -- once we got into discussion of the song itself, I had forgotten about the question in the original post (that's what I get for posting when I should be sleeping).

 

[bholder]

I think bholder was misled by mistakes in the chart. The chord chart posted earlier shows a Bb triad voiced D Bb D F (see the picture attached to my last post), but incorrectly labels that a "B-" instead of a Bb (maybe whoever made the chord chart incorrectly used the minus sign instead of a flat symbol). @bholder called it a B dim, which I can understand given the confusing chart, but I think the actual chord there is a Gmin6.

View attachment 3230327

Edit: But @JimmyM, you're right that @bholder did ask about a different progression in his original post and the progression he asked about contains a Bdim, and that's an interesting discussion in its own right. Sorry about that -- once we got into discussion of the song itself, I had forgotten about the question in the original post (that's what I get for posting when I should be sleeping).

Yeah the whole Bdim thing is apparently an accident, but it somehow works. I'll try with the Gm6 in it's place and see how that sounds.

 

[Russell L]

Technically, Bdim7 (B°7) is B-D-F-Ab. That is, a B diminished triad with a doubly flatted 7. That voicing is also known as a "full diminished" chord. I'm saying this because it's important to distinguish it from a "half diminished" chord which is a diminished triad with a dominant 7 (b7), also known as "m7b5." That would be B-D-F-A. Sometimes it is written in shorthand simply as a little circle with a slanted line through it.

LOL, I'm sure this adds to all the confusion. Sorry.

 

[bholder]

The only note that wouldn't fit neatly into the Dm motif is the G# since Bdim is B-D-F-G#. But don't worry about it...it fits because you put it there. Don't worry about fitting it neatly into the box. All that matters is if it sounds good. Theory exists to explain what we did, not to tell us what to do

And as it turns out, I'm not playing that 7th anyway, that's probably why it works, thanks.

 

[CallMeAl]

This. It's available applied dominant.

I knew there was a name for it! This of course only applies to the OPs original example, looks like other things happening in 'time in a bottle,' apparent from some of the other posts in this thread

 

[bholder]

I knew there was a name for it! This of course only applies to the OPs original example, looks like other things happening in 'time in a bottle,' apprent from some of the other posts in this thread

Yeah, all triggered by a typo in a chord chart (wasn't just me that was confused, though, their pop-up chord symbol thingie also read it as B Diminished). Curious, but interesting discussion for an accident, thanks, folks!