Piano for Beginners 6th ED - 2016 UK

A diminished (A-C-E )

To play the chord in its root position first locate the minor triad (A-C-E). Now

lower your fifth finger on the right hand (or your thumb on the left) by one

semitone. When you feel comfortable, practise moving between the inversions.

Using diminished chords

Misusing a diminished chord does not sound pretty, so let’s learn where to play them

D

iminished chords can add a really

interesting sound to your playing but

need to be used in moderation. If your

piece is in a major key, then the diminished

chord that occurs naturally will have its root on the

seventh note of that scale. In the key of G major for

example, the diminished chord would be F#dim. To

form this chord, first locate the root note (F#) and

count up three semitones to locate the minor third

(A). The fifth note lies another minor third up from

this note (C). If, however, your piece is in a minor key,

the naturally-occurring diminished chord will be

built from the second note of that minor scale; in

the key of C minor for example, the diminished triad

is D dim (D, F and A ). You will find that the most

common way composers incorporate diminished

chords into their playing is by using the diminished

7th. This has an identical structure but with a fourth

note added on top – this note lies another minor

third above the fifth note of the triad. Cdim7 would

therefore comprise the notes C, E , G and A. When

playing seventh chords usually the fingering 1 -2- 3 - 5

works best in the right hand and 5 - 3 -2- 1 in the left;

this is because it is harder to use your fourth finger

independently of the third. Diminished sevenths

are often used as resolution chords; the best way to

understand this is to hear it: Play Cdim7 and practise

resolving to G major – sounds pretty jazzy, right?

Diminished

chords

A diminished chord is formed of a stack

of minor thirds

“If your piece is in a major key, then the

diminished chord that occurs naturally will have

its root on the seventh note of that scale”

C diminished (C-E -G )

Repeat the exercise until you feel confident locating the C diminished chord.

Now add the seventh (A). C7 in its second inversion moves melodically to G

major due to a shared bass and the fall of E /C to D/B.

Audio file

Listen to the audio files

and follow along on your

own keyboard

Give it a try