This scale specifically corresponds with a 7b9 or b9 dominant chord. The halfdiminished the halfdiminished chord a minor seventh chord with a flattened fifth occurs as a fournote chord on the seventh degree of the major scale, on the second degree of the harmonic minor scale and on the sixth and seventh degree of the ascending form of the melodic minor scale. The half diminished the half diminished chord a minor seventh chord with a flattened fifth occurs as a fournote chord on the seventh degree of the major scale, on the second degree of the harmonic minor scale and on the sixth and seventh degree of the ascending form of the melodic minor scale. Aug 10, 2018 today we are going to learn how to use the diminished scale in a non diminished key. For each scale, you can learn a number of different shapes and patterns, depending on the zone of the fretboard youre working on.
Diminished scales are used in the construction of flat nine also known as sharp nine chords, but may also be used in conjunction with most dominant 7th chords. This is really advantageous, because it opens a whole range of possibilities. This is possible if you understand the trinity of diminished seventh chords. Most popular musicians dont have a clue about how to analyze and write chord progressions, they just use their own intuition and ear and basically do what they already know from learning other guitar players chord progressions. This means there is harmonic movement occuring around these chords. Major, minor, dominant, diminished youtube the circle of fifths how to actually use it duration. Because of that it is also commonly referred to as the wholehalf diminished scale. Many people first learn to improvise using major and blues scales, and so we are used to learning scales that have a different scale for. Understanding the diminished scale from methode aebersold jazz method aebersold a guide for the modern jazz player in stock. Diminished scales on guitar halfwhole and wholehalf.
Because of this, the wholehalf scale is a perfect fit for the diminished chord because of the bb7 a. The diminished triad is what naturally occurs on the 7th degree of the major scale. The dominant diminished scale is used to solo over dominant 7th chords, or more specifically 7b9 chords. For diminished chords, build the scale from the root ex.
Free printable guitar scales, ready to download and use. Its the same scale just starting on the second degree. Understanding the trinity of diminished seventh chords hear. Because of the symmetry of the diminished scale, any of the notes from the three pitch collections could be replaced as the starting note for a diminished scale. Db harmonic minor for a co chord a half diminished chord eg. B d f b diminished what basically is happening here is that we are just starting on each note of the scale and skipping 3rds. There are basically three diminished seventh chords you can learn and youll be able to derive the rest of them. For more free lessons on theory, chords and soloing head to. To help you visualize how the diminished scale is constructed, here is a chart that lays out the interval.
This long awaited 104 page book is the defining treatise on the diminished scale. In these diminished scale diagrams, any of the white circles can be considered to be the root tonic note of the scale. The ebook contains the most important scales for beginners, such as major and minor, but shows also more advanced. The final section of this course does include a few challenges that are generally not considered beginner level musicianship, but are very useful in just about every field and genre of music. Diminished scale it is made only by a sequence of half step semitone and whole step tone. Includes 12 exercises, 6 common patterns, and 4 classic diminished licks over iiv7i tracks aligned. Scale drawings allow us to accurately represent sites, spaces, buildings and details to. The diminished scale is an important scale used in jazz but can also be used in blues. This is largely because dominant 7th chords are chords of transition. Db harmonic minor for a co chord a halfdiminished chord eg.
Check out my free video lessons on my free lessons page. I suggest to use it just on the dominant 7th and diminished 7th chord in a jazz context. The note upon which a chord is based, no matter its inversion. This lesson will hopefully enable you to understand how the scale is formed. Barry harriss sixth diminished scale heres a great excerpt from a barry harris workshop where he introduces an interesting diminished concept, which he jokingly calls his personal scale. The guide tones for a diminished seventh chord are root, b3, b5 and bb7. Diminished scale is a symmetric scale created by the sequence. Printable pdf ebook method containing 40 major jazz guitar licks with tab. Click here to download this free printable guitar scales chart pdf to your computer. How to understand and write major key chord progressions. Free printable guitar scales 14 most commonly used scales. So in this article, well get you started with an introduction to diminished scale theory. This will be covered in more detail in the pdf handouts later in this article. I like to think of the diminished scale in terms of starting on c, f, and g simply because those are easy notes to remember, although these reference points are completely arbitrary.
Use my search bar to find exactly what youre looking for. So now that you have a subwaymap, literally, of dominant chords in your brain, you should have a pretty easy time understanding how dominant chord voicings are constructed and why there seem to be so many different flavors of a dominant seventh chord. How to understand and write major key chord progressions why do i need to know this stuff. Apr 08, 2016 10 diminished patterns and a lifetime of work. The key is the root of the scale that a group of chords or notes fall into.
Heres a great excerpt from a barry harris workshop where he introduces an interesting diminished concept, which he jokingly calls his personal scale. Also, it was aim to help you understand how through its construction it can be adapted to play in differing musical scenarios. This means that for example an a diminished scale contains the same notes as a c diminished scale, an e flat diminished scale, and a g flat diminished scale. Major, minor, diminished, and augmented chords as you probably know, a chord is a group of notes played simultaneously, rather than sequentially like a melody. The diminished scale can be divided into two modes called fully. The video is a bit pianofocussed so i thought it might help some guitar players to have. Today we are going to learn how to use the diminished scale in a non diminished key. So, for any one of the three learned, youll be able to play four diminished seventh chords. If we write out the c major scale in two octaves we will have. And while diminished scale theory can be a very deep field of study, many students appreciate having a basic understanding of what the diminished scale is and how it is used in music. Apr 01, 2015 this long awaited 104 page book is the defining treatise on the diminished scale. You could also sometimes use the harmonic minor scale a semitone higher ie. It is the sixth mode of the ascending form of the melodic minor scale or jazz scale. The relationship between diminished seventh chords.
Then pick one of the 10 diminished patterns and take it into the practice room for a week. These can be used as a tension device in improvisation and are a totally different sound than the more common major and minor scales. This means that the scales are constructed using a. This is a nice chord scale derived from wh diminished. For example, in the key of c these guide tones are. The halfwhole diminished scale is an 8 note symmetrical scale. Many of us may not be aware though that you can also use dominant 7th arpeggios from the scale to solo over dim7 chords. This document was created with prince, a great way of getting web content onto paper. Symmetric scales have an even number of notes and repeated intervals or interval sequences. This is most commonly referred to as the wholehalf diminished scale. Understanding the trinity of diminished seventh chords. It explains everything you need to know about this versatile scale and how where to use it in your solos.
The diminished scale works well with diminished chords and dominant 7 th. Augmented 7th or dominant 7th, sharp 9th, flat th chords e. When you consider its exotic sound, the mystery grows. The dominant diminished scale can be applied to the v7 chord in a 251 chord progression, as well as the vi7b9 chord in any tune you are improvising on, which you will often see in a rhythm changes and jazz blues progression. Master dominant seventh chord alterations, scales, and. Guitar scales explained with graphics and clear music theory. Jul 14, 2017 guitar scales explained with graphics and clear music theory.
Although there are twelve diminished seventh chords, its possible to learn all of them by just learning and mastering three of them. Also included are 12 etudes, many based on standards, that demonstrate how and where to place diminished scale ideas in the changes. Barry harriss sixth diminished scale cochrane music. Pdf download just only for you, because understanding the diminished scale. A diminished chord is built similarly to a minor chord, except for its fifth. Secrets of the diminished scale learn jazz standards. It produces a very cool jazz sound by a quite unexpected means. Diminished chords, like major and minor chords, occur naturally in every key, and each key has only one diminished chord. Understanding the diminished scale a guide for the modern jazz player. Includes 12 exercises, 6 common patterns, and 4 classic diminished licks over iiv7i tracks aligned to jameys popular vol.
The diminished arpeggio trick that works all the time youtube. The diminished scale is a type of 8note symmetrical scale. The diminished arpeggio is a four note symmetrical arpeggio built on minor thirds and we are going to use it as. Free guitar scales pdf 84 scale and arpeggios chart. People sometimes use several other names for the halfwhole and wholehalf diminished scales, but the other terms arent standardized, and are sometimes even. Start by visualizing and ingraining the minor third relationship of the diminished chord tones in every key there are only 3. Understanding basic music theory open textbooks for hong kong. The half diminished scale is a sevennote musical scale. Intervals are the musical unit of measurement between two notes. The scales and patterns shown in this lesson are based on the halfwhole versions of the diminished scales. The diminished scale, also known as the octatonic scale, is spelled whwhwhwh or hwhwhwhw, depending on whether you start with a wholestep or a halfstep. For musicians who might be interested, it was such a gift for me to discover the diminished scale when i was learning to play jazz. Jun, 2018 dominant 7 chord alterations understanding chord voicings.
This longawaited method book explains everything you need to know about the diminished scale and howwhere to use it in your solos. You can see its symmetry when you look at the intervalic composition of the scale. This scale is especially useful for dealing with diminished chords. The diminished scale is an eightnote scale that is built by picking a tonic note, and then alternating whole steps and half steps from that starting note. Diminished triads, half diminished, and diminished 7th, which is also called a fully diminished chord. Thats a root, minor 3rd, and flat or diminished 5th, three minor 3rds in a row.
Understanding intervals any study of harmony must begin with intervals. Heres a free guitar scales pdf ebook 22 pages with plenty of scales and arpeggios patterns. The diminished scale belongs to a group of scales called symmetric scales. It is symmetrical, unlike the major scale, and this alone gives it a certain mystery. See all 2 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. But rememberyou dont have to do everything at once. Includes 12 exercises, 6 common patterns, and 4 classic diminished licks over iiv7i tracks aligned to jameys popular volume 3 playalong sold separately.
Pdf download book is very recommended for you all who likes to reader as collector, or just read a. Since the diminished scale is more of a synthetic construction than. Diatonic means notes that belong to a scale or stay within the restrictions of a specific scale such as the major scale. This form of the diminished scale is generally referred to as the halfwhole diminished scale. The diminished scale is an often misunderstood, even a disliked scalar form.
The diminished scale is also referred to as the wholehalf diminished scale due to the fact it is constructed by every second whole and half steps notice. In the same way that we have inches, feet and yards to determine the exact distance from one point to another, intervals define the exact distance from one note to another. Pdf download book is limited edition and best seller in the year. I recently received walt weiskopfs latest book, understanding the diminished scale. This is not a very common scale, and it is primarily used in jazz music and. A guide for the modern jazz player weiskopf, walt on. Here are some free pdfs used to supplement my free video lessons. Experienced jazz improvisers take advantage of the seemingly endless possibilities afforded by the diminished scale. This is a great way to gain a better understanding of how each diminished scale sounds as well as comparing the difference in sounds and tonal colors of the diminished scale and inverted diminished scale. But there are several different types of chords, depending on the different intervals between the. These are not lessons, but supplements to my lessons. A guide for the modern jazz player paperback april 1, 2015 by walt weiskopf author 4.
The exercises continue on with various inversions of the diminished and inverted diminished in all 12 keys. Cm75, cm7b5 c z use either a eb minor scale up a minor 3rd or a db. The diminished scale is different from the dominant diminished scale, which alternates half and whole steps and is used to solo over dominant 7b9 chords when first exploring diminished scales on guitar, it is easy to confuse these two scales. Pdf download book is very recommended for you all who likes to reader as collector, or just read a book to fill in spare time. This seven note sequence uses the second mode of the a hw diminished scale so therefore its caled a bb wh diminished scale. May 24, 2019 diminished chords, like major and minor chords, occur naturally in every key, and each key has only one diminished chord. A diminished chord eg co or c dim use the diminished scale on the same note. The main purpose of the course, however, is to explore basic music theory so. This is not a very common scale, and it is primarily used in jazz music and work well together with alternate seventh chords.
So starting on c we skipped a 3 rd to e then another 3 up from e which. Can walt weiskopf teach us the ultrahip sound of the. Understanding the concept of architectural scales and scale drawings. The examples away from the video or article you can download a pdf here. C half diminished over cm7b5 altered scale play over. The tetrachord construction for a wholehalf diminished scale is a. Diminished scale theory music theory online easy with. The diminished scale is used to solo over diminished 7 dim7 chords. Diminished scale guide for guitar jamie holroyd guitar. But there are several different types of chords, depending on the different intervals between the notes.
In the same way that we studied in the diminished chord, diminished scale repeats itself each one and a half tone. This means that the scales are constructed using a repeated pattern of half and whole steps. To understand the symmetry, it is interesting to compare the two modes of the. The diminished scale is built upon two diminished seven chords. The major scale is used as the basic starting point for many scales and modes. The scales in this group include the chromatic scale, the diminished scale, the whole tone scale, and the augmented scale.