Diminished seventh chords are some of the most multifaceted and useful chords in the musicians toolbox.
However, it's also due to these chords somewhat mysterious and ambiguous nature that the average musician does not fully take advantage of what they have to offer.
An average guitarist who has been playing a while generally knows a few chord fingerings, and if required to do so, can plunk out a chord here or there.
Usually though, that is as far as it goes.
Well, in this article, let's peel back some layers on this wonderful and useful chord.
This chord is symmetrical, which means it is equally divided.
It has its own unique sound and provides it with its ambiguous nature.
The chord is built on minor third intervals.
It takes four notes to make a complete chord; the root note, the third interval, the fifth interval, and the seventh interval.
So C diminished 7th would be C, E-flat, G-flat, B-double-flat.
Ah, but here is where it gets slippery.
Since this chord is symmetrical, or equally divided in minor third intervals, you can make another diminished seventh chord from any of the other three notes.
So, in other words, the C, E-flat, G-flat, and B-double-flat [A] are technically four different chords, but not really.
They all sound the same, and they all use the exact same four notes.
That's a nasty little trick isn't it? You can almost understand why people run the other direction from this stuff.
The reality is, these chords are extremely flexible and can add a lot of musical choices for you as a musician and artist.
Okay, I know.
This material takes time to absorb, but it is worth it.
One hurdle, or obstacle, in learning and growing as a musician is learning when, where, how, and why to play and apply what you have learned.
Nowhere is this more true than playing diminished seventh chords.
If played in the wrong place in the wrong context they sound horrible.
If you think about it, this can be true of a lot of different musical elements.
However, when played in the right place, they can really blend in.
Rather than sticking out and sounding like somebody has dropped a tray of silverware, it sounds like a soft shifting of colors from medium to light blue, or whatever.
Here is exercise number one to get you started.
You can pick any chord for your main chord.
Now to add some color and variation to your main chord, for a portion of each measure you are going to switch to a diminished seventh chord.
There is only one rule for this exercise.
The root note of your main chord must be one note in the diminished seventh chord.
This is known as a 'common tone' diminished seventh chord progression.