The point of DIMINISHING returns…

by Ari 6 Feb 2020 2 minute read 14.1K views 1.9K shares

Is it true that when music calls for a diminished chord, it really means a diminished 7th?

Ahh… the diminished chord. It does cause confusion.

Because one needs to be really precise with nomenclature, it generates questions like this one from a Quora poster. Diminished chords come your way in a variety of styles of music. The most important feature of a diminished chord is that the fifth is diminished. Because of that they sound darker. There is a variety of them and context is key.

So, I understand where the question is coming from and I provide the answer in Quora below. Since the seventh in a diminished four-note chord could be minor or diminished, I thought I better lay out all options. And then there is the fact that this could also just refer to a triad…

So, I lay out all the various possibilities with examples that clearly highlight the differences. It’s critical that you understand the notes in play when faced with a diminished chord!

 

Match Game

For fun, let’s play the match game. Match the chord types on the left with the correct chord notes on the right:

Chord Name 

  • 1)  Adim7 
  • 2)  Amin7b5 
  • 3)  Adim or Ao 

match with Chord Notes

  • a)  A – C – Eb – G
  • b)  A – C – Eb – Gb
  • c)  A – C – Eb

(To check your answers, click over to the Quora post!)

Quora POST click here

Related Posts:

Do dominants, secondary dominants, or tritone substitutions have to be seventh chords?

What is the distinction between using a flat five chord and a sharp eleven, besides the octave?

Related Blog Posts:

What you need to know about “diminished”

The Diminished Scale

 

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Hi. I'm Ari.

As a bassist, I have toured/played/recorded with a variety of rock, Jazz, and funk bands, I have worked with some incredible producers (Keith Olsen) and musicians (Paul Hanson, Muriel Anderson) and I toured Brazil with Stu Hamm as a duo.

As a bass teacher, I have taught at London Bass Day, Gerald Veasley’s Bass Boot Camp, SBL, Truefire, notreble… I even ran my own music school for a few years before gigs took me back on the road.

One thing to know about me is that I teach because I am absolutely fascinated with the learning process. And I am obsessed with helping others realize their musical potential.

When I started playing bass, I excelled very quickly because I had an amazing teacher who taught me using a powerful method. This method transformed my playing so quickly that I passed a bunch of high-level university auditions and even tested out of entire classes at university even though I had been playing for only a very short time.

That’s what, many years later turned into one of my books, co-written with Wolf Wein, called “The Pattern System for the Bass Player”. I created entire systems of learning based on some of these ideas and wrote books and created courses together with Wolf. Our bass books have sold over 30,000 copies and garnered rave reviews.

I started teaching online in 2009 and have embraced technology as a powerful learning tool since then, never losing sight of the importance of providing feedback and personalized guidance to learners.

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