Let's share some chord progressions w/ dim chords

[A1A2]

I haven't had much luck with dimished chords when trying to fit it in a progression without sounding too cheezy. So, share some here if you will.

I will start with this simple one, but beautiful in my opinion:

Dm7, G#dim7(with G#root), Cmaj7

AL

 

[64Firebird]

The only time I use diminished chords is as a sub for a IV chord in the 2nd bar of a 12 bar Blues. So, it might look like this:


E|---0------0--0--0------------|---5------5--5--5-------------|
B|---5------5--5--5------------|---4------4--4--4-------------|
G|---6------6--6--6------------|---5------5--5--5-------------|
D|---5------5--5--5------------|---4------4--4--4-------------|
A|---0------0--0--0------------|---0------0--0--0-------------|
E|-------------------------------|--------------------------------|

Then repeat the first bar again.

 

[A1A2]

The only time I use diminished chords is as a sub for a IV chord in the 2nd bar of a 12 bar Blues. So, it might look like this:


E|---0------0--0--0------------|---5------5--5--5-------------|
B|---5------5--5--5------------|---4------4--4--4-------------|
G|---6------6--6--6------------|---5------5--5--5-------------|
D|---5------5--5--5------------|---4------4--4--4-------------|
A|---0------0--0--0------------|---0------0--0--0-------------|
E|-------------------------------|--------------------------------|

Then repeat the first bar again.

64Firebird:

Do you think you can translate this part "2nd bar of a 12 bar Blues" into dummy words for me? I am not very familiar with the terms yet...
Were you the one that started a "lets share riff" thread? I hope people share their progression at least this time

AL

 

[64Firebird]

Yes, I'm am the one that started that thread. And why didn't you post one!?! (just kidding)

Okay 12 bar blues. The type I'm referring to is called a "quick change." In the Key of A it would go like this:

A7 for 1 bar, D7 for 1 bar, A7 for 2 bars, D7 for 2 bars, A7 for 2 bars, E7 for 1 bar, D7 for 1 bar, A7 for one bar and E7 for 1 bar.

12 bar blues is a very common progression in blues music (think Texas Flood by SRV) and about half the time it's a quick change like the one above. A slow change is exactly the same except that you don't go to the IV (4) chord in the 2nd bar, you just stay on the I chord.

How's that?

 

[BluesMeister]

Let's not forget my fellow pluckers that a Diminished chord is a triad and a Diminished 7th is an extended chord.

A couple of progressions then from my own musical dalliances:

Each bar is 4 beats:-

| Dm | Ddim | Gm | A+ |

|Dm | Gm/D9 | Bbm | Dm |

That's just the first 8 bars of it, it's actually a jazz-flavoured fingerpicking thing.

Ddim=xxx131

And the second use of diminished chords:

From another jazzy-type thing:-

| Em7 | Ddim | D | D7 |
| Em7 | Ddim | D | A7 |

(That one resolves to Bm which is the home chord of the tune...)

Em7=022030
Ddim=xxx131
D=x00232

You can see how the G & E strings ascend chromatically around that D on the B-string.

--
BluesMeister

 

[64Firebird]

Hey BluesMeister, I was fooling around with that last one and just for kicks I played it backwards and it makes a great blues turnaround!

Thanks!

 

[A1A2]

64Firebird:

Gotcha, thanks for explaning.

here is my late arrival for the riff nothing fancy, but I use it alot

E---------------------9-12-11-10-9--------------------
B-------------9--10------------------12-10--10- 12^14
G--------------11---------------------------10----------
D--9-11-12----------------------------------------
A--------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------

BluesMeister

thanks for correcting me. Question: what did you mean by Gm/D9? D9 with Gm root??
and do you not play the D root for your Ddim for a reason? Your progression sounds somewhat weird. Maybe I'm just not used to it yet...

AL

 

[AlChuck]

Question: what did you mean by Gm/D9? D9 with Gm root??

A root is a single tone, therefore there can't be a "Gm root." The terms major, minor, etc. only come into play when you have at least two tones.

He must mean two beats of Gm followed by two beats of D9...

 

[BluesMeister]

Hey BluesMeister, I was fooling around with that last one and just for kicks I played it backwards and it makes a great blues turnaround!

I'll try that myself when I get home!

He must mean two beats of Gm followed by two beats of D9...

That's precisely what I meant. Apologies for the confusion my fellow fretters You can substitute an Am for that D9 if your fingers won't travel fast enough. Just slide the Gm up two frets.

Used in the right company, those diminished chords can add an extra dimension to your playing.

--
BlueMeister

 

[A1A2]

cool, I thought I missed something there.

and A+ is??? not a sharp is it?

man, gotta pull out those music books again

AL

 

[BluesMeister]

and A+ is??? not a sharp is it?

It means A augmented, as in augmented 5th, that is the fifth is raised by a semitone:

A=A C# E
A+=A C# F

Another cool chord is A+7

A C# G F

002021

It sounds great when you play half a bar of A+7 then A7

--
BluesMeister

 

[moley]

Actually, technically, A+ is A C# E#

F is not the augmented 5th, it's the minor 6th. E# is the augmented 5th.

As regards dim chords - a dim7 works as a sub for a 7b9 chord.

BluesMeister, you said "Let's not forget my fellow pluckers that a Diminished chord is a triad and a Diminished 7th is an extended chord".

That's a debated issue Some say they're the same thing (i.e. 1 b3 b5 bb7), and some say dim is 1 b3 b5 and dim7 is 1 b3 b5 bb7 (like you said).

Personally, I tend to go with your definition - but, it is a slightly contraversial issue

 

[mocharock]

Ooh that is talking music theory!!! To be correct it is E# but it is so hard to try and mix blues and rock into theory. The average guitarist gets that glazed over look in there eye and nops at everything you say.

 

[AlChuck]

No one has yet pointed out the cool fact that the dim7 chord -- is symmetric in shape on the guitar. Take any dim7 chord and move it up four frets--same grip-- it's the next inversion of the chord.

 

[Tom Hicks]

Put your hands in the major scale posture and start on "7".That is the locrian mode or diminished scale,which you can use over diminished chords.Diminished chords serve primarily as passing chords,to move from one chord to another.They can be used to modulate from any key to any other key and still sound tonal.

Examples:
How about two keys a tritone apart?Normally not considered for modulation because of the inherant dissonance of the interval.
c major- f dim - f# major

How about a half step modulation up?
c major - c dim - c# major
Get it?Use the dim chord 1/2 step below the target chord as a leading tone.

Here's a gospel progression:
C major - Eb major - F major - F# dim
C major - A minor - D minor - G+

 

[AlChuck]

The Locrian mode is not quite the same as the diminished scale. The four note chord built on it is the so-called half-diminshed chord, a.k.a. minor 7-flat 5.

 

[dragonworks]

The augumented chord can be named by any of the notes in the chord?

 

[A1A2]

wow~I definitely have to carefully read thur all of these theory posts later tonight. But, WHERE ARE THE PROGRESSIONS???

AL

 

[moley]

The augumented chord can be named by any of the notes in the chord?

In a sense. Using enharmonic equivalents - C+, for example contains C E G#. E+ contains E G# C, and G#+ contains G# C E. So, any given augmented chord contains the same pitches as the augmented chords rooted on the other notes of the chord.

But, C+ and E+ are *not* the same thing - even though they contain the same pitches. The key difference is the root note.

 

[moley]

Examples:
How about two keys a tritone apart?Normally not considered for modulation because of the inherant dissonance of the interval.
c major- f dim - f# major

How about a half step modulation up?
c major - c dim - c# major
Get it?Use the dim chord 1/2 step below the target chord as a leading tone.

Here's a gospel progression:
C major - Eb major - F major - F# dim
C major - A minor - D minor - G+

Yes.

And in all these cases, the dim chords are subs for dominant 7ths - this is a very common use for dim chords. With Fdim F# major, the Fdim is a sub for C#7, and with Cdim C#, the Cdim is a sub for G#7.

In that first gospel example, the F# dim is a sub for D7. And very often the next chord will be a G.