The Diminished Chord Feels so out of place when I play a chord progresson, How can I use it more effectively?

Question

Let's say i'm playing a simple I IV V Progression in C Major.

So C F G. If I throw in the B Dim, it sounds awkward, even though the tension released when hitting C sounds good. After what Chords are the Diminshed best used?

Answer 1

(For reference, ° = diminished)

cconsaul's response was very good (although not 100% accurate), but I think all the answers so far assumed that you are talking about a B°7 chord (starting on B, that would be B, D, F, A-Flat).

From your question, though, it seems like you might actually be talking about a ° TRIAD (starting on B, that would be B, D, F). If this is the chord you are talking about, try playing it with the D in the bass. Then, when you resolve to the C chord, move the D down to C, the B up to C, and the F down to E.

Now, if you want to make your B° triad sound a little fuller, you can add a fourth tone. You have a few options here...

If you add a G to the B° triad, you have B, D, F, and G, which is really just a V7 chord! So a ° triad on the 7th scale degree (in this case B) is really just the V7 chord without the root note, which explains why it resolves so nicely to the I chord.

If you add an A-flat instead of G, you have a fully-diminished 7th chord built on B (B, D, F, A-Flat), which cconsaul discussed in detail. To keep things simple, this B°7 chord resolves nicely to the C chord, and should sound fine regardless of which note you have in the bass (although the resolution will feel most "complete" if you have the B or the D in the bass). Just remember to resolve each chord tone by step -- the B goes up to C, the D goes down to C, the F goes down to E, and the A-Flat goes down to G.

If you add an A to your B° triad, you have a B half-diminished 7th chord (B, D, F, A). This also will resolve to the I chord, but it is more difficult to pull off convincingly. To understand why, think about how the chord tones in the half-diminished chord will resolve to the I chord -- the B will go up to the C, the D will go down to the C, the F will go down to the E, and the A will go down to the G. The problem is that when the D goes to C and the A goes to G, you are creating parallel perfect 5ths, which is a no-no in most tonal music (though there are definitely exceptions).

To avoid creating these parallel 5ths, you can resolve the D upwards to E instead of downwards to C. You can also move the A down to G BEFORE you resolve the rest of the chord, in effect creating a G7 chord between the half-diminished 7th chord and the C chord. Along the same lines, you could move the A down to A-Flat BEFORE you resolve the rest of the chord, creating a B°7 between the half-diminished 7th chord and the C chord.

I hope I didn't confuse with too much detail, but those are the basics of using diminished traids and diminished 7th chords built on the 7th scale degree (B in your case). If it's just the triad, the resolution will sound better if the bass note is scale degree 2 (D in your case). When you add another tone to create a V7, °7, or half-diminished 7th chord, you will find that you have more freedom as far as the bass note is concerned; just watch out for the parallel fifths when using the half-diminished 7th!

Oh, and you also asked, "After what chords are the diminished best used?" Since the diminished chord resolves to I just like the V chord does, you can use it in place of the V chord before the I. So you can use it after a vi chord, after a IV chord, or after a ii chord, for example. You can even use it before or after the V chord to add some "color."

Diminished chords of all types sound best when you use good voice-leading, treating each chord tone -- including those in the chords before and after -- as separate, independent lines. This is because of the heavy dissonance and "instability" found in most diminished chords. With good voice-leading, you prepare and resolve that dissonance convincingly.

Answer 2

The Diminished Seventh chord is more of a bridge chord. It is not so much used afterward, rather in between two chords, to soften the fall. When I say that it is a bridge chord, I mean that literally. If you take any of the tones of a diminished seventh and move them one half step lower (down) you get a V7 chord. There are four V7 chords to each diminished seventh chord, and there are only three real diminished seventh chords. (that repeat every three half steps) That means, that if you truly know your diminished seventh chords, you will quickly learn that you can play every V7 chord there is within one fret above or below where you are on a guitar fretboard, or within one half step above or below where you are on a keyboard. This is a tremendously powerful tool.

(I will be using the small "b" as a flat sign in this diagram)

C#/Db - E - G - A#/Bb
Move the C# to a C, you get a C7 chord
Move the E to an Eb, you get an Eb7 chord
Move the G to a Gb/F#, you get a Gb/F#7 chord
Move the A#/Bb to an A, you get an A7 chord

D - F - G#/Ab - B
Move the D to a C#/Db and you get a C#/Db chord
Move the F to an E and you get an E7 chord
Move the G#/Ab to a G and you get a G7 chord
Move the B to an A#/Bb and you get an A3/Bb chord

D#/Eb - F#/Gb - A - C
Move the D#/Eb to a D and you get a D7 chord
Move the F#/Gb to an F and you get an F7 Chord
Move the A to a G#/Ab and you get a G#/Ab chord
Move the C to a B and you get a B7 chord

E - G - A#/Bb - C#/Db
Same as the first chord, just a different inversion! You see? All twelve keys are represented and you only had to move such a tiny space to get to them. This is especially useful for improvisation and jazz players.

You will also notice that the tone you move becomes the new tonic. This is an excellent way to write modulations and an excellent way to find substitutions as well. I can also put it a bit more simply in that this is an excellent way to move chromatically, rather than diatonically. Chromatically is when you move by half steps and diatonically is when you move by scale degree.

That unsettling feeling is supposed to be there however. That is the tension that you are releasing in order to achieve a resolution that ultimately satisfies your listener. You want that little bit of tension in there because it increases the pleasure in the end. The fact that you are sensitive to it, speak well for you, since you are aware of it and can use it to it's best effect.

Answer 3

diminished chords are used a lot in movie music for spooky and erie scenes.

As pointed out there are only 3 or 4 variants.

The Beatles used them a little on the White Album

I think Jim Webb used them in some of his songs

They are rare and used as a tonic in a moving chord structure.

Look at the song Dear Prudence by the Beatles, as I recall the middle section uses diminished chords (look around, round, round round.....)

Notice that whole song uses a moving progression

C, C Mj7, C Min Mj 7

They move the third around a lot in that song.

I think Nelly Furtado might have used it in I'm Like A Bird

That song also moves the third I think

Notice how dissonant that whole song goes musically

You have to make the dissonance progressive

so your looking at building chords through an entire progression including min mj 7 and augmented

You're trying to tweek the sound more dissonant as you progress the chords.

Diminished is about as dissonant as yu can get

Answer 4

there are only "3" dimished chords covering all keys?...they are given different names to suit the key?...however,sometimes a different inversion?...has a totally different effect!...On a guitar fret board?...they are spaced chromatically and repeat every fourth fret...I just tried your chord sequence and found the "one"behind" the "G" position had the most effect...these chords are used a lot as "passing" chords...and can have a dramatic effect if played in succession at 4 fret intervals...you often hear Y.Malsteem make an impressive speed appeggio!...using inverted diminished runs...or try playing the sequence... (D.."?"..A..F#..B7..E..A..) the"missing" chord ?...is one of the "3" diminished chords...try all 3!!!...or check out "Youtube"...best of luck

Answer 5

Depends on the song. If it sounds out of place, its because it IS out of place. If you're playing a simple 3-chord folk, country, blues, bluegrass, or rock song, most of the time throwing a diminished chord in there is just going to sound REALLY WEIRD, because diminished chords aren't customarily used in those styles of music. So the most effective way to use a diminished chord may be to quit trying to put it into songs where it doesn't belong. :-)