Diminishedtriads

Jermaine Griggs
& Chuku Onyemachi
QUICK
REFERENCE ON
Diminished
Triads
Contents
Acknowledgement
PRELIMINARY CHAPTER
CHAPTER 1
Dissection of the Augmented Triad
CHAPTER 2
Chord Formation of Augmented Triads
CHAPTER 3
The Relationship Between Augmented Triads
CHAPTER 4
Final Words
WorkBook
126 Exercises
Workbook
126 Answers

PRELIMINARY
CHAPTER
Diminished
Triads Defined

The diminished triad isn’t as common as the major and minor triads
we’ve covered in past weeks and after reading this reference guide,
you’ll know exactly why.
Who can define the
diminished triad?
The word
diminished to make smaller
literally means .
The diminished triad is a minor triad with a smaller fifth (diminished
diminished fifth
fifth). It is this interval that influenced the name of
this triad.
So if you make the fifth of any known minor triad smaller by a
semitone (to form a diminished fifth), this will produce a diminished
triad.
For instance…
The C minor triad is formed by playing C, Eb, and G:

C is the first (aka – “root”):

Eb is the third:

G is the fifth:

If we make the fifth tone (G) smaller by lowering it to Gb:

…this will produce the C diminished triad:

…which literally means
“a minor triad with a smaller fifth.”
The importance of the fifth chord tone in chord formation is that it
determines the stability of a chord.
There’s only one fifth that is considered universally stable . It is
called the perfect fifth. Triads that have a perfect fifth are stable
while triads that have either raised or lowered fifths sound unstable
and have the tendency to resolve to other chords.
This means that the lowering of the fifth chord tone to produce a
diminished chord tampered with the stability of the chord. That’s
why the quality didn’t change, only the stability.
It’s still a minor chord but with a
flat five
.
Now that we’ve provided a basic definition of the diminished triad,
intervallic components
let’s delve into the of the chord.

CHAPTER 1
What Are
Diminished Triads
Made Of?
Intervallic
Components Of
The Diminished
Triad
Every chord, no matter how big or complex, can be broken down
into intervals (two notes). Triads are formed with three notes,
therefore breaking them into intervals is a piece of cake.
Let’s look at the intervals that make up the diminished triad. We’ll
use the C diminished triad:

…that we covered in the previous segment.
Below are the two intervals that make up the diminished triad:
CEb:

…which is a
minor third
.
CGb:

…a
diminished fifth
.
The intervals of the minor third and diminished fifth make up the
diminished triad and familiarity with them will help you understand
this chord in all 12 keys.
The Minor Third
Interval
The minor third is the interval between the first and the third degree
of the minor scale. For example, in the C minor scale:

…the interval between the first scale tone (C):

…and the third scale tone (Eb):

…is a minor third:

However, it’s easier to see it as a major third interval that is lowered
by a semitone (half step). In the key of C major, a major third is:

…and this is because C and E are the first and the third degrees of
the C major scale. If you lower CE by a semitone (half step), this
will produce:

…CEb, a minor third interval.
Knowledge of the minor third intervals in all keys means you’ve
covered 50% of of the intervallic components of the diminished triad.
The Diminished
Fifth Interval
The diminished fifth interval can be formed when we make the
perfect fifth, which is the interval between the first and fifth degree
of the minor or major scale, smaller by lowering it a semitone (half
step). Using the C minor scale:

…the interval between the first scale tone (C):

…and the fifth scale tone (G):

…is a perfect fifth:

If the fifth tone (G):

…is lowered by a semitone:

…with the intention of making it smaller (i.e – diminishing it), this
will produce a diminished fifth interval.

The diminished fifth interval is also known as the tritone, because it
consists of three adjacent whole steps. There was a time when this
interval was considered devilish and banned because of its extreme
dissonance. (If this interests you, check out my blog post on “the
devil in music”).
The diminished triad inherits its instability from the diminished fifth
interval. If the diminished triad had a perfect fifth interval (which is
considered to be universally consonant), it wouldn’t be unstable.
Pay attention to this…
If you change the quality of fifth (of the diminished triad) from a
diminished fifth to a perfect fifth, you’ll end up reversing it to a
minor triad. For example, CEbGb:

…is a diminished triad.
If you raise its fifth (which is Gb):

…by a semitone (half step), this will produce CG:

…and CG in turn will yield a minor triad:
Now that we’ve covered the intervallic components of a diminished
chord formation of diminished triads
triad, let’s look at the .

CHAPTER2
Chord Formation
of Diminished
Triads

How Can
Diminished Triads
Be Formed In All
The Keys?
There are many ways to approach chord formation of the diminished
triad.
However, I’ll limit it to three approaches – scale, interval, and chord
approaches.
Formation #1 –
Scale Approach
The diminished triad can be formed from the octatonic scale
.
an eighttone scale
Octatonic scale literally means .
There are two known variations of the octatonic scale,
The
Octatonic wholehalf
:

…and the
Octatonic halfwhole:
Let’s look at the scale formation of the octatonic scale.
Octatonic Whole Half

Starting from C:

…a whole step will yield D:

…a half step will yield Eb:

…a whole step will yield F:

…a half step will yield F#:

…a whole step will yield G#:

…a half step will yield A:

…a whole step will yield B:

…a half step will yield C.

Here’s the C octatonic wholehalf scale:
Octatonic Half-Whole
Starting from C:

…C
+ a half step:

…Db + a whole step:

…
Eb + a half step step:

E + a whole step:

F# + a half step:

G + a whole step:

A + a half step:

Bb + a whole step:

This is how octatonic halfwhole looks.
Octatonic scales are not traditional scales. Therefore, spelling
guidelines do not apply to them. It’s possible to have both sharp and
flat symbols in the octatonic scale.
Let’s get into chord formation of the diminished triad using the
octatonic wholehalf scale.
To form F diminished triad, you’ll need F octatonic wholehalf scale:

From the scale above, form F diminished triad by:
Starting on F:

…skipping a note (G in this case).
Picking a note (Ab in this case):

…skipping a note (Bb in this case).
…and finally, picking B:

FAbB may not be the proper spelling of F diminished, but the
diminished triad is formed and that is the ultimate goal. The proper
spelling of F diminished triad is FAbCb:
While the octatonic scale may prove helpful in terms of chord
formation, you must watch out for misspellings as they are bound to
occur with the use of flat and sharps in the same scale, coupled with
omission and repetition of letter names.
Formation #2 –
Interval Approach
It’s possible to form the diminished triad using the intervallic
components we covered earlier.
The diminished triad has two intervallic components:
● Minor third
● Diminished fifth
…which I trust you’re now familiar with, considering that we
covered them earlier.
From C:

…adding a minor third (3 half steps):

…and a diminished fifth (6 half steps):

…will produce a diminished triad:
Applying this same approach to chord formation from any note will
produce the diminished triad.
Formation #3 –
Chord Approach
You can form diminished chord if you’re familiar with minor triads.
Diminished triads are unstable minor triads. If you diminish the fifth
tone of a minor triad, this will produce an unstable variant, known as
the diminished triad.
(Remember that the stability of a chord is in its fifth.)
Here’s the C minor triad:

Diminishing its fifth from G:

to Gb:

…will produce a diminished triad:

…a C diminished triad.
If the fifth tone of the G minor triad:

…which is D:

…is lowered by a half step, this will produce:

…a G diminished triad.
Minor vs
Diminished Triads
Below are minor triads and diminished triads in all keys.
C minor vs C diminished triads:

C# minor vs C# diminished triads:

…which can also spelled as Db minor and Db diminished triads.
D minor vs D diminished triads:

D# minor vs D# diminished triads:

…which can also spelled as Eb minor and Eb diminished triads.
E minor vs E diminished triads:

F minor vs F diminished triads:

F# minor vs F# diminished triads:

…which can also spelled as Gb minor and Gb diminished triads.
G minor vs G diminished triads:

G# minor vs G# diminished triads:

…which can also spelled as Ab minor and Ab diminished triads.
A minor vs A diminished triads:

A# minor vs A# diminished triads:

…which can also spelled as Bb minor and Bb diminished triads.
B minor vs B diminished triads:

CHAPTER 3
Additional
Formation
Techniques

Additional Formation
Technique –
Symmetry
The diminished triad is symmetrical.
Symmetrical triads
are triads that can be divided into two equal
intervals.
It’s true that the diminished triad is made up of the minor third and
the diminished fifth. However, if we consider it from another
perspective, you’ll see that C diminished:

…can be broken down to:
CEb:

…a minor third.
EbGb:

…which is also a minor third.
This means that the diminished triad consists of two minor third
intervals that are placed side by side. Therefore, putting two minor
third intervals together will produce the diminished triad.
A minor third interval built on F:

…consists of F and Ab. If another minor third interval is formed
from Ab, this will produce:

Put together, F Ab +Ab Cb will amount to:

And that’s an F diminished triad.
Below are two minor third intervals you can put together to produce
diminished triads:
C and Eb minor third intervals:
C# and E minor third intervals:
D and F minor third intervals:
D# and F# minor third intervals:
E and G minor third intervals:
F and Ab minor third intervals:
F# and A minor third intervals:
G and Bb minor third intervals:
G# and B minor third intervals:
A and C minor third intervals:

A# and C# minor third intervals:
B and D minor third intervals:

Diminished
Triads
WorkBook
126
Exercises
YOU WILL BE GIVEN ROOT NOTES. DETERMINE THE
MINOR THIRD OF NOTE GIVEN.
Question:
Given the root in the key of C, dot minor third.
minor third is three half steps above the root
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #1
Question:
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #2
Question:
Given the root in the key of F, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #3
Question:
Given the root in the key of Bb, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #4
Question:
Given the root in the key of Eb, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #5
Question:
Given the root in the key of Ab, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #6
Question:
Given the root in the key of Db, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #7
Question:
Given the root in the key of Gb, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #8
Question:
Given the root in the key of B, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #9
Question:
Given the root in the key of E, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #10
Question:
Given the root in the key of A, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #11
Question:
Given the root in the key of D, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #12
Question:
Given the root in the key of G, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #13
Question:
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #14
Question:
Given the root in the key of F, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #15
Question:
Given the root in the key of Bb, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #16
Question:
Given the root in the key of Eb, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #17
Question:
Given the root in the key of Ab, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #18
Question:
Given the root in the key of Db, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #19
Question:
Given the root in the key of Gb, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #20
Question:
Given the root in the key of B, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #21
Question:
Given the root in the key of E, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #22
Question:
Given the root in the key of A, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #23
Question:
Given the root in the key of D, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
Question #24
Question:
Given the root in the key of G, dot minor third.
Clue: The

note.
Answer
YOU WILL BE GIVEN ROOT AND THE PERFECT FIFTH
INTERVALS TO DETERMINE THE DIMINISHED FIFTH.
Given the root and the perfect fifth of C,
Question:
derive the diminished fifth
.
The diminished fifth is achieved by flattening the
Clue:
perfect fifth interval.
Answer
Question #25
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #26
Given the root and the perfect fifth of F,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #27
Given the root and the perfect fifth of Bb,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #28
Given the root and the perfect fifth of Eb,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #29
Given the root and the perfect fifth of Ab,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #30
Given the root and the perfect fifth of Db,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #31
Given the root and the perfect fifth of Gb,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #32
Given the root and the perfect fifth of B,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #33
Given the root and the perfect fifth of E,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #34
Given the root and the perfect fifth of A,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #35
Given the root and the perfect fifth of D,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #36
Given the root and the perfect fifth of G,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #37
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #38
Given the root and the perfect fifth of F,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #39
Given the root and the perfect fifth of Bb,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #40
Given the root and the perfect fifth of Eb,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #41
Given the root and the perfect fifth of Ab,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #42
Given the root and the perfect fifth of Db,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #43
Given the root and the perfect fifth of Gb,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #44
Given the root and the perfect fifth of B,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #45
Given the root and the perfect fifth of E,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #46
Given the root and the perfect fifth of A,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #47
Given the root and the perfect fifth of D,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
Question #48
Given the root and the perfect fifth of G,
Question:
.
Clue:
Answer
EVERY DIMINISHED TRIAD HAS TWO MINOR THIRD
INTERVALS. YOU WILL BE GIVEN ONE MINOR THIRD,
DETERMINE THE OTHER ONE.
Given the root and the minor third of C, dot
Question:
the second minor third that makes up the diminished
triad
.
Answer
Question #49
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #50
Given the root and the minor third of F, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #51
Given the root and the minor third of Bb, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #52
Given the root and the minor third of Eb, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #53
Given the root and the minor third of Ab, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #54
Given the root and the minor third of Db, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #55
Given the root and the minor third of Gb, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #56
Given the root and the minor third of B, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #57
Given the root and the minor third of E, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #58
Given the root and the minor third of A, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #59
Given the root and the minor third of D, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #60
Given the root and the minor third of G, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #61
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #62
Given the root and the minor third of F, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #63
Given the root and the minor third of Bb, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #64
Given the root and the minor third of Eb, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #65
Given the root and the minor third of Ab, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #66
Given the root and the minor third of Db, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #67
Given the root and the minor third of Gb, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #68
Given the root and the minor third of B, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #69
Given the root and the minor third of E, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #70
Given the root and the minor third of A, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #71
Given the root and the minor third of D, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
Question #72
Given the root and the minor third of G, dot
Question:
triad
.
Answer
GIVEN THE OCTATONIC SCALE OF A PARTICULAR KEY,
DERIVE THE DIMINISHED TRIAD OF THE KEY GIVEN.
Given the octatonic scale of C, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #73
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #74
Given the octatonic scale of F, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #75
Given the octatonic scale of Bb, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #76
Given the octatonic scale of Eb, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #77
Given the octatonic scale of Ab, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #78
Given the octatonic scale of Db, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #79
Given the octatonic scale of Gb, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #80
Given the octatonic scale of B, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #81
Given the octatonic scale of E, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #82
Given the octatonic scale of A, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #83
Given the octatonic scale of D, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #84
Given the octatonic scale of G, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #85
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #86
Given the octatonic scale of F, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #87
Given the octatonic scale of Bb, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #88
Given the octatonic scale of Eb, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #89
Given the octatonic scale of Ab, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #90
Given the octatonic scale of Db, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #91
Given the octatonic scale of Gb, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #92
Given the octatonic scale of B, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #93
Given the octatonic scale of E, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #94
Given the octatonic scale of A, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #95
Given the octatonic scale of D, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
Question #96
Given the octatonic scale of G, derive the
Question:
diminished triad.
Answer
YOU WILL BE GIVEN THE MINOR TRIAD OF A KEY TO
DERIVE THE DIMINISHED TRIAD.
Given the minor triad of C, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #97
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #98
Given the minor triad of F, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #99
Given the minor triad of Bb, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #100
Given the minor triad of Eb, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #101
Given the minor triad of Ab, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #102
Given the minor triad of Db, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #103
Given the minor triad of Gb, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #104
Given the minor triad of B, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #105
Given the minor triad of E, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #106
Given the minor triad of A, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #107
Given the minor triad of D, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #108
Given the minor triad of G, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #109
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #110
Given the minor triad of F, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #111
Given the minor triad of Bb, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #112
Given the minor triad of Eb, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #113
Given the minor triad of Ab, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #114
Given the minor triad of Db, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #115
Given the minor triad of Gb, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #116
Given the minor triad of B, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #117
Given the minor triad of E, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #118
Given the minor triad of A, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #119
Given the minor triad of D, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Question #120
Given the minor triad of G, derive the
Question:
diminished triad
.
Answer
Diminished
Triads
Triads of the First, Fourth and fifth
Degrees of the Major Scale.
WorkBook
120
Answers
ANSWERS
TO QUESTIONS
1 - 24
Answer #1
Answer #2
Answer #3
Answer #4
Answer #5
Answer #6
Answer #7
Answer #8
Answer #9
Answer #10
Answer #11
Answer #12
Answer #13
Answer #14
Answer #15
Answer #16
Answer #17
Answer #18
Answer #19
Answer #20
Answer #21
Answer #22
Answer #23
Answer #24
ANSWERS
TO QUESTIONS
25 - 48
Answer #25
Answer #26
Answer #27
Answer #28
Answer #29
Answer #30
Answer #31
Answer #32
Answer #33
Answer #34
Answer #35
Answer #36
Answer #37
Answer #38
Answer #39
Answer #40
Answer #41
Answer #42
Answer #43
Answer #44
Answer #45
Answer #46
Answer #47
Answer #48
ANSWERS
TO QUESTIONS
49 - 72
Answer #49
Answer #50
Answer #51
Answer #52
Answer #53
Answer #54
Answer #55
Answer #56
Answer #57
Answer #58
Answer #59
Answer #60
Answer #61
Answer #62
Answer #63
Answer #64
Answer #65
Answer #66
Answer #67
Answer #68
Answer #69
Answer #70
Answer #71
Answer #72
ANSWERS
TO QUESTIONS
73 - 96
Answer #73
Answer #74
Answer #75
Answer #76
Answer #77
Answer #78
Answer #79
Answer #80
Answer #81
Answer #82
Answer #83
Answer #84
Answer #85
Answer #86
Answer #87
Answer #88
Answer #89
Answer #90
Answer #91
Answer #92
Answer #93
Answer #94
Answer #95
Answer #96
ANSWERS
TO QUESTIONS
97 - 120
Answer #97
Answer #98
Answer #99
Answer #100
Answer #101
Answer #102
Answer #103
Answer #104
Answer #105
Answer #106
Answer #107
Answer #108
Answer #109
Answer #110
Answer #111
Answer #112
Answer #113
Answer #114
Answer #115
Answer #116
Answer #117
Answer #118
Answer #119
Answer #120

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Jermaine Griggs

& Chuku Onyemachi

Octatonic Whole Half

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