Diminished seventh chord

The diminished seventh chord is a seventh chord composed of a root note,

together with a minor third, a diminished fifth, and a diminished seventh diminished seventh
above the root: (1, ♭3, ♭5, 7). For example, the diminished seventh chord built Component intervals from root
on C, commonly written as Co7, has pitches C–E♭–G♭–B : diminished seventh
diminished fifth (tritone)
minor third
root
As such, a diminished seventh chord comprises a diminished triad plus a Tuning
diminished seventh. Because of this, it can also be viewed as four notes all
stacked in intervals of a minor third and can be represented by the integer 125:150:180:216[1]
notation {0, 3, 6, 9}. Forte no. / Complement
4–28 / 8–28
Since a diminished seventh is enharmonically equivalent to a major sixth, the
chord is enharmonically equivalent to (1, ♭3, ♭5, ♮6).

The diminished seventh chord occurs as a leading-tone seventh chord in the harmonic minor scale. It typically has
dominant function and contains two diminished fifths, which often resolve inwards.[2]

In most sheet music books, the notation Cdim or Co denotes a diminished seventh chord with root C; but it may
also happen, mostly in modern jazz books and some music theory literature, that Cdim or Co denotes a diminished
triad (more commonly denoted Cm ♭ 5), while Cdim7 or Co7 in these books denotes a diminished seventh chord
(corresponding to Cm6♭5).

François-Joseph Fétis tuned the chord 10:12:14:17 (17-limit tuning).[3]

Contents
Analysis
Function
Most common functions
Other functions
Expressive potential
Symmetry
Diminished seventh chord table
See also
References

Analysis
Music theorists have struggled over the centuries to explain the meaning and function of diminished seventh
chords. Currently, two approaches are generally used.

The less complex method treats the leading tone as the root of the chord and the other chord members as the
third, fifth, and seventh of the chord, the same way other seventh chords are analyzed.
The other method is to analyze the chord as an "incomplete dominant ninth", that is a ninth chord with its root on
the dominant, whose root is missing or implied. A viio7 chord in the minor key (for example, in C minor, B♮–D–F–
A ♭) occurs naturally in the harmonic minor scale and is equivalent to the dominant 7 ♭9 chord (G–B–D–F–A ♭)
without its root.

This was already proposed by Arnold Schoenberg,[4] and Walter Piston championed this analysis.[5] Jazz guitarist
Sal Salvador, and other jazz theorists, also advocated this view, rewriting chord charts to reflect this and supplying
the "missing" root as part of their bass lines.[6] The dominant ninth theory was questioned by Heinrich Schenker.
He explained that although there is a kinship between all univalent chords rising out of the fifth degree, the
dominant ninth chord is not a real chord formation.[7]

Jean-Philippe Rameau explained the diminished seventh chord as a dominant seventh chord whose supposed
fundamental bass is borrowed from the sixth degree in minor, raised a semitone producing a stack of minor
thirds.[8] Thus, in C, the dominant seventh is G7 (G–B–D–F) and the sixth degree borrowed from the minor scale
produces A♭–B–D–F.[8]

In his Treatise on Harmony, he observed that three minor thirds and an augmented second make up a chord
where the augmented second is such that "the ear is not offended" by it. He may have been talking of the
augmented second in quarter-comma meantone, a tuning he favored, which is close to the just septimal minor
third of 7:6.

Function

Most common functions

The most common form of the diminished seventh chord is that
rooted on the leading tone – for example, in the key of C, the chord
(B–D–F–A ♭ ) – so its other constituents are the , , and ♭ (flat
submediant) scale degrees. These notes occur naturally in the
harmonic minor scale. But this chord also appears in major keys,
especially after the time of J.S. Bach, where it is borrowed from the
parallel minor. Diminished seventh chord resolution: both
diminished fifths tend to resolve inward, doubling
Diminished seventh chords may also be rooted on other scale
the third of the tonic chord
degrees, either as secondary function chords temporarily borrowed
from other keys, or as appoggiatura chords: a chord rooted on the
raised second scale degree (D♯–F♯–A–C in the key of C) acts as an appoggiatura to the tonic (C major) chord, and
one rooted on the raised sixth scale degree (A ♯–C ♯–E–G in C major) acts as an appoggiatura to the dominant (G
major) chord. Because these chords have no leading tone in relation to the chords to which they resolve, they
cannot properly have dominant function. They are therefore referred to commonly as non-dominant diminished
seventh chords or common tone diminished seventh chords (see below).

The diminished seventh chord normally possesses a dominant function, and this is most straightforwardly shown
when the root of a dominant seventh chord is omitted. The remaining third, fifth and seventh of that chord form a
diminished triad (whose new root is the third of the former chord), to which a diminished seventh can be added.
Thus, in C (major or minor), a dominant seventh chord consisting of G–B–D–F can be replaced by a diminished
seventh chord B–D–F–A♭.
In jazz harmony, a combination of the original chord with its substitute (with G in the bass and A♭ simultaneously
in an upper voice) yields the seven flat-9 chord, which intensifies the dominant function of either a diminished
seventh or dominant seventh chord. Other transformations of this kind facilitate a variety of substitutions and
modulations: any of the four notes in a diminished seventh chord are raised by a semitone, that raised note is then
the flat-seventh of a half-diminished seventh chord. Similarly, if any of the four notes in the diminished seventh
chord are lowered by a semitone, that lowered note is then the root of a dominant seventh chord.

In jazz, the diminished seventh chord is often based on the ♭ scale degree (the flat mediant) and acts as a passing
chord between the mediant triad (or first-inversion tonic triad) and the supertonic triad: in C major, this would be
the chord progression E minor – E ♭ diminished – D minor. The chord, "plays no role in... jazz."[9] The passing
chord is used widely in Brazilian music such as choro, samba and bossa nova.

Other functions
Another common use of the chord is as a sharpened subdominant
with diminished seventh chord. This is represented by the Roman
notation ♯ivo7, but in classical music is more correctly represented
as viio7/V, being a very common way for a composer to approach
the dominant of any key. In the key of C, this is F ♯dim7. It is also a
common chord in jazz and ragtime music. A common traditional
A chord progression with a sharpened
jazz or Dixieland progression is IV– ♯ivo7–V7 (in C major: F–F ♯ o7–
subdominant with diminished seventh chord
G7). Another common usage of ♯ivo7 is often found in Gospel music
and jazz progressions such as in the song "I Got Rhythm":

In C: | C C/E | F F♯dim7 | C/G A7 | Dm7 G7 |

One variant of the supertonic seventh chord is the supertonic diminished seventh[10] with the raised supertonic,
which is enharmonically equivalence to the lowered third through (in C: D ♯ = E ♭). It may be used as a dominant
substitute.[11]

A diminished seventh chord may function as a

common-tone diminished seventh chord. In this role, a
diminished seventh chord resolves to a major or
dominant seventh chord whose root is one of the notes
of the diminished seventh chord (common tone), the
most common being the raised supertonic seventh,
which resolves to the tonic in major keys ( ♯ iio7–I,
shown below) and the raised submediant, which
resolves to dominant triad or seventh in major keys
( ♯vio7–V, shown right), with the altered tones resolving According to Bruce Benward and Marilyn Saker, "The... [♯iio and
upward by half step in both cases.[12] ♯vio ] chords are very common in 20th-century 'barbershop'
quartet music."[12] The music shows the chord progression IV –
6 4
vi6 – Ger+6 – I ♯vio5 – V3.

The cto7 chord, whose function, "is simply one of embellishment," most often spelled ♯iio7 when embellishing I or
♯ vio7 when embellishing V, is distinguished from the viio7/V chord by common tone chords resolving to I or I6
6
while viio7/V resolves to V or I4.[13] They may be confused, due to enharmonic equivalency, but resolution is a
better indicator of function than spelling. In C:

cto7/I = d♯o7 = D♯–F♯–A–C

viio7/V = f♯o7 = F♯–A–C–E♭ (= D♯)
The diminished chord may also resolve through lowering two of the chord tones producing a supertonic seventh
chord (ii7) that may lead to a conventional cadence:[14]

Expressive potential
During the Baroque era (1600–1750), European
composers became aware of the expressive potential of the
diminished seventh chord. In operas and other dramatic
works, the chord was frequently used to heighten the
sense of passion, anger, danger or mystery. One famous
example can be found in J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion
(1737), in which he sets verses from the Gospel of
Matthew, Chapter 27, verses 20–21: "But the chief priests 4
Example (B♯o2) in the Waltz of the Flowers (1892)[13][12]
and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask
Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor [Pilate]
answered and said unto them, ‘Whether of the twain will
ye that I release unto you?’ They said, ‘Barabbas.’" Bach sets the text so that the angry multitude’s harsh reply on
the word ‘Barabbas’ is a diminished seventh chord (Listen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmeH-A2ZU-I)):

After Bach, diminished sevenths were to feature regularly in music to evoke the uncanny or sense of impending
danger. A powerful diminished seventh chord heralds the resurrection of the murdered Commendatore in the final
scene of Mozart's Don Giovanni (1787). The dead man’s statue comes to life and takes the Don down to Hell in one
of the most chilling episodes in the entire operatic repertoire (Listen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cb1Q
mTkOAI)):

In the early years of the 19th century, composers used the diminished seventh with increasing frequency. In "Die
Stadt", one of his darkest and most melancholy songs from Schwanengesang (1828), Franz Schubert conjures "the
pianistic elaboration of a diminished seventh over an octave tremolo"[15] to convey the sinister rippling of the oars
as the protagonist is rowed across a lake towards the town where his lost beloved once lived. According to Edward
T. Cone, "This famous arpeggiation seems to arise from nowhere to create an atmospheric prelude... and it dies
away to nothing in a postlude."[15] The song ends on the diminished seventh chord; there is no resolution, "the
dissonance is terminal":[15]
 0:00 MENU

The operas of Carl Maria von Weber, particularly Der Freischutz and Euryanthe, featured many passages using
this chord. The Wolf’s Glen scene in Der Freischutz (1821) is an example (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd
UdnDpnqFQ). According to his early biographer, Alexander Wheelock Thayer,[16] Ludwig van Beethoven spoke
disparagingly of the ‘accumulation of diminished seventh chords’ in Euryanthe (1823).

Beethoven was himself rather fond of the chord and was well aware of its dramatic potential. Perhaps the clearest
instance of the diminished seventh’s power to evoke mystery and terror can be found in the passage linking the
two final movements of Beethoven’s Appassionata Sonata, Op. 57 (1806). The placid conclusion of the andante
movement is interrupted first by a slowly rolled diminished seventh arpeggio played pianissimo, followed by the
same chord played an octave above in a sharp, stabbing fortissimo.[17]

0:00 MENU

By the end of the 19th century, composers had used the diminished seventh so much that it became a cliché of
musical expression and consequently lost much its power to shock and thrill. By the turn of the 20th century,
many musicians were getting weary of it. In his Harmonielehre (1911),[18] Arnold Schoenberg wrote:

Whenever one wanted to express pain, excitement, anger, or some other strong feeling – there we find,
almost exclusively, the diminished seventh chord. So it is in the music of Bach, Haydn, Mozart,
Beethoven, Weber, etc. Even in Wagner’s early works it plays the same role. But soon the role was
played out. This uncommon, restless, undependable guest, here today, gone tomorrow, settled down,
became a citizen, was retired a philistine. The chord had lost that appeal of novelty, hence, it had lost
its sharpness, but also its luster. It had nothing more in say to a new era. Thus, it fell from the higher
sphere of art music to the lower of music for entertainment. There it remains, as a sentimental
expression of sentimental concerns. It became banal and effeminate.

Symmetry
Because a diminished seventh chord is composed of three stacked minor thirds, it is symmetrical and its four
inversions are composed of the same pitch classes. Understanding what inversion a given diminished seventh
chord is written in (and thus finding its root) depends on its enharmonic spelling. For example, G ♯dim7 (G ♯–B–
D–F) is enharmonically equivalent to three other inverted diminished chords with roots on the other three pitches
in the chord:
1. Bdim7 (A♭–B–D–F)
2. Ddim7 (A♭–C♭–D–F)
3. Fdim7 (A♭–C♭–E –F)
The same four pitch classes spelled as four different
Nineteenth-century composers in particular often make use of diminished seventh chords: G♯dim7, Bdim7, Ddim7,
this enharmonic to use these chords for modulations. Percy and Fdim7.

Goetschius calls it the "enharmonic chord."[19]

As a result of the symmetry of the chord, if you ignore enharmonic

spelling, there are only three distinct diminished seventh chords,
the other nine being enharmonically equivalent to those three.
Using Piston's incomplete-ninth analysis discussed above, a single
diminished seventh chord, without enharmonic change, is capable
of the following analyses: V, V/ii, V/III (in minor), V/iii (in major),
V/iv, V/V, V/VI (in minor), V/vi (in major), V/VII (in minor).
Two diminished seventh chords in the octatonic
Since the chord may be enharmonically written in four different
scale (one red, one blue) may be rearranged as
ways without changing the sound, we may multiply the above by
the alpha chord
four, making a total of forty-eight possible interpretations.[20]
More conservatively, each assumed root may be used as a
dominant, tonic, or supertonic, giving twelve possibilities.[21]

The octatonic scale (or diminished scale), a symmetric scale, may be conceived of as two interlocking diminished
seventh chords, which may be rearranged into the alpha chord.

Diminished seventh chord table

 Chord Root Minor third Dim. fifth Dim. seventh

Co 7 C E♭ G♭ B (A)

C♯♯o 7 C♯ E G B♭

D♭♭o 7 D♭ F♭ (E) A (G) C (B♭)

Do 7 D F A♭ C♭ (B)

D♯♯o 7 D♯ F♯ A C

E♭♭o 7 E♭ G♭ B (A) D (C)

Eo 7 E G B♭ D♭

E♯♯o 7 E♯ G♯ B D

Fo 7 F A♭ C♭(B) E (D)

F♯♯o 7 F♯ A C E♭

G♭♭o 7 G♭ B (A) D (C) F (E♭)

Go 7 G B♭ D♭ F♭ (E)

G♯♯o 7 G♯ B D F

A♭♭o 7 A♭ C♭ (B) E (D) G (F)

Ao 7 A C E♭ G♭

A♯♯o 7 A♯ C♯ E G

B♭♭o 7 B♭ D♭ F♭ (E) A (G)

Bo 7 B D F A♭

B♯♯o 7 B♯ D♯ F♯ A

See also
Enharmonic scale
Diminished seventh interval
Leading tone seventh chord
Irregular resolution
Half diminished chord
Subtonic

References
1. Shirlaw, Matthew (1900). The Theory of Harmony, p.86. ISBN 978-1-4510-1534-8. "G♯–B–D–F."
2. Benward & Saker (2003). Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I, p.219. Seventh Edition. ISBN 978-0-07-
294262-0.
3. Fétis, François-Joseph and Arlin, Mary I. (1994). Esquisse de l'histoire de l'harmonie, p.139n9. ISBN 978-0-
945193-51-7.
4. Schoenberg, Arnold. Harmonielehre, chapter IX, Wien, Universal Edition, 1911
5. Piston, Walter (1962). Harmony (https://archive.org/details/harmony3rdpist/page/191) (3rd ed.). New York:
W.W. Norton. pp. 191 (https://archive.org/details/harmony3rdpist/page/191). ISBN 0393097374.
OCLC 2082824 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2082824).
6. Salvador, Sal (1985). Chordal Enrichment & Chord Substitution. Pacific, Mo.: Mel Bay Publications.
ISBN 0871665271. OCLC 21109944 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/21109944).
7. Schenker, Heinrich; ed. and annot. Oswald Jonas (1954). Harmony. Translated by Elisabeth Mann-Borgese.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 192. OCLC 280916 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/280916).
 8. Christensen, Thomas Street (2004). Rameau and Musical Thought in the Enlightenment, p.100. ISBN 978-0-
521-61709-3.
9. Tenzer, Michael and Roeder, John (2011). Analytical and Cross-Cultural Studies in World Music, p.157n10.
ISBN 978-0-19-538458-1.
10. Kitson, C. H. (2006). Elementary Harmony, p.43. ISBN 1-4067-9372-8.
11. Coker, Jerry (1997). Elements of the Jazz Language for the Developing Improvisor, p.82. ISBN 1-57623-875-
X.
12. Benward, Bruce & Saker, Marilyn (2009). Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. II, p.220-2. Eighth Edition.
ISBN 978-0-07-310188-0.
13. Kostka, Stefan and Payne, Dorothy (1995). Tonal Harmony, p.435. Third edition. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-
300056-6 "The cto chords… embellish [the] dominant chord. While the cto chords are clearly ornamental,
their flavor is crucial to this passage and to the waltz that follows."
14. Alchin, Carrie Adelaide (1917). Applied Harmony (https://books.google.com/books?id=fgQtAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA
6&dq=%22diminished+seventh+chord%22+alchin&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjbxcaUu4zVAhVQ6WMKHY4
WCqwQ6AEIKDAB#v=onepage&q=%22diminished%20seventh%20chord%22&f=false), p.99. Los Angeles: C.
A. Alchin. [ISBN unspecified] [1] (https://archive.org/details/appliedharmonyte00alchrich).
15. Cone, Edward T. (2009). Hearing and Knowing Music. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 109.
ISBN 9781400830466. OCLC 670430565 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/670430565).
16. Thayer, A. W. (1921) Life of Beethoven. Princeton: Princeton University Press (1879),
17. Rosen, C. (2002, p.196) Beethoven's Piano Sonatas, a Short Companion Yale University Press.
18. Schoenberg, Arnold (1911) Harmonielehre, Wien, Universal Edition.,
19. Goetschius, Percy (1913). The Material Used in Musical Composition: A System of Harmony. p. 159, G.
Shirmer, Inc.
20. Piston, Walter (1962). Harmony (https://archive.org/details/harmony3rdpist/page/201) (3rd ed.). New York:
W.W. Norton. pp. 201 (https://archive.org/details/harmony3rdpist/page/201). ISBN 0393097374.
OCLC 2082824 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2082824).
21. Adela Harriet Sophia Bagot Wodehouse (1890). A Dictionary of Music and Musicians: (A.D. 1450–1889),
p.448. Macmillan and Co., Ltd.

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