The half-diminished seventh chord\u00a0is formed from the seventh degree of the major scale and is rarely used.<\/p>\n
In this post, we’ll be covering the ins and outs of the half-diminished seventh chord; starting from its basic definition, then delving into its intervallic breakdown where you will understand the intervals that make up this week’s chord.<\/p>\n
I’m also going to show you alternative approaches to its chord formation – the scale<\/em> approach, the interval<\/em> approach, and the chord<\/em> approach.<\/p>\n I am glad to welcome you to week 10 of our FREE 16-week chord revival program<\/a>. Let’s go!<\/p>\n [thrive_leads id=’12692′]<\/p>\n The half-diminished seventh chord is a chord formed off the seventh degree<\/strong> of the major scale. To help you understand more about this chord, I’ll make a reference using the C major scale.<\/p>\n In the C major scale, B: The goal of this segment is to breakdown this chord into its intervallic components<\/em>.\u00a0 This is a fancy way to say the intervals that make up the chord.<\/p>\n Every chord, no matter how small or large, no matter how complex or simple, can be broken down into smaller harmonic fragments known as intervals<\/a>. An interval is basically the relationship between two notes<\/strong> as it relates to distance.<\/p>\n So using the C half-dim 7th chord as a reference, we have…<\/p>\n C and Eb: C and Gb: C and Bb: “Why are we covering the intervallic components of the half-diminished chord?”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The intervallic components of a chord help you understand these two things:<\/p>\n Check out what each of these intervals represent…<\/p>\n The minor third<\/strong><\/p>\n The interval formed between the root and third of a chord determines its quality<\/em> – whether it is major or minor. The half-diminished seventh chord is a minor chord quality because the interval between its root and third is a minor third.<\/p>\n The diminished fifth<\/strong><\/p>\n The diminished fifth is an unstable interval.<\/p>\n It was called the “devil in music<\/a>“<\/em> several centuries ago and popularly known today as the tritone. The diminished fifth interval is unstable as opposed to the perfect fifth interval. Every chord that has a diminished fifth interval is unstable and the half-diminished seventh chord is no exception.<\/p>\n The minor seventh interval<\/strong><\/p>\n The minor seventh interval is a dissonant<\/a> interval.<\/p>\n However, this interval contributes to the quality of the half-diminished seventh chord. The interval between the third and seventh chord tones of the half-diminished seventh chord is a perfect fifth.<\/p>\n Using C half-dim 7 seventh chord as a reference:<\/p>\n …the interval between Eb and Bb: Therefore, the half-diminished chord is a combination of stability\u00a0and instability. Stability between its third and the seventh chord tones (Eb and Bb): Now that you’re familiar with the intervallic components of the half-diminished seventh chord, let’s go ahead and explore its formation.<\/p>\n In this segment, we will be talking about chord formation approaches and like I promised in the beginning, we’ll be covering three approaches to the chord formation of the half-diminished seventh chord.<\/p>\n [thrive_leads id=’12692′]<\/p>\n The very first approach to the formation of the half-diminished seventh chord will feature the use of scales. This is called the scale approach because we are going to be using a known scale to form the half-diminished seventh chord.<\/p>\n The scale we are using in this chord formation method is an old scale system known as the locrian mode<\/a>. The locrian mode is the seventh mode and it is naturally formed on the keyboard from B to B: Earlier in the beginning, I defined the half-diminished seventh chord as a chord of the seventh degree of the major scale.<\/p>\n At this point, you should be seeing how synonymous the half-diminished seventh chord is with the number seven.<\/p>\n It is the chord of the seventh degree and it\u2019s also formed from the seventh mode [the locrian mode.]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The formation of the locrian scale is pretty simple!<\/p>\n To form the locrian scale in all the keys, all you need to do is to think in terms of the major scale of the key a half step above<\/strong> the note of the locrian mode you want to form.<\/p>\n If I want to form the C locrian scale, all I need to do is to think in terms of Db. The Db major scale can help you derive the C locrian scale and this is because the C locrian scale is simply the rearrangement of the notes of the Db major scale: I’ll add Db: This works because C is really the 7th tone of the Db major scale. Playing the Db major scale from the 7th degree to the higher 7th degree produces the locrian mode.<\/p>\n Here’s one more example…<\/p>\n If I want to create the F locrian scale, all I need to do is to think in terms of the major scale whose root is a half step up from F and that’s the Gb major scale: Starting from F: I’ll add Gb: What\u2019s really happening is I\u2019m playing the Gb major scale from the 7th degree (F) to the higher 7th degree (F).<\/p>\n For reference purposes, here are the locrian scales in all twelve keys:<\/p>\n C locrian scale: All you need to do is pick a note and skip the next note until you get to the seventh tone of the locrian scale.<\/p>\n Here’s the scale approach to the formation of the C half-diminished seventh chord using the C locrian mode:<\/p>\n Starting from C: [thrive_leads id=’12692′]<\/p>\n The next chord formation approach is the use of intervals.<\/p>\n The intervallic breakdown of the half-diminished seventh chord showed us three intervals that it consists of – the minor third, the diminished fifth, and the minor seventh intervals.<\/p>\n Stacking these intervals in one octave will produce the half-diminished seventh chord.<\/p>\n The minor third interval can be formed in any key from the relationship between the first and third tones of the locrian scale in that key. The diminished fifth is formed from the relationship between the first and fifth tones of the locrian scale while the minor seventh is formed from the relationship between the first and seventh tones of the locrian scale.<\/p>\n Stacking the minor third, the diminished fifth, and the minor seventh intervals together in one octave will produce the half-diminished seventh chord.<\/p>\n In the key of C, the half-diminished seventh chord consists of…<\/p>\n C and Eb: C and Gb: C and Bb: Stacking all these intervals in one octave would produce the C half-diminished seventh chord: Example #1 – F half-dim 7<\/strong><\/p>\n The F half-diminished seventh chord can be formed by stacking the three intervallic components in the key of F…<\/p>\n F and Ab: F and Cb: F and Eb: Stacking these together in one octave will form the F half-diminished chord: Example #2 – A half-dim 7<\/strong><\/p>\n The A half-diminished seventh chord can be formed by stacking the three intervallic components in the key of A…<\/p>\n A and C: A and Eb: A and G: Fitting this together in one octave would produce the A half-diminished seventh chord.<\/p>\n Our last chord formation technique for today favors the use of a known chord. In a previous post, we covered the minor seventh chord<\/a> and I trust that you are familiar with it.<\/p>\n You can lower the fifth tone of any known minor seventh chord by a half step to produce the half-diminished chord. Using the C minor seventh chord as an example:The Half-Diminished Seventh Chord – Defined
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\n…is the seventh tone. The half-diminished chord is simply the chord formed off this seventh tone (B, in this case). Using my pick-skip technique<\/em>, all you just need to do is start on B:
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\n…skip C and pick D:
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\n…skip E and pick F:
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\n…skip G and pick A:
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\nIf we put all the notes we’ve picked together, we’ll have B, D, F, and A:
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\n…and that’s the half-diminished seventh chord. Here’s what it looks like if transposed a half step up to C:
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\nIn the ensuing chapters, we’ll break down this chord into its intervallic components so that you’ll understand why this chord is called the half-diminished seventh chord.<\/p>\nA Breakdown Of The Half-Diminished Seventh Chord
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\n…which is a minor third<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
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\n…which is a diminished fifth<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
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\n…which is a minor seventh<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n
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\n…which are the third and seventh<\/a> tones of the half-diminished seventh chord are a perfect fifth apart. For all intents and purposes, the perfect fifth interval is considered to be universally consonant.<\/p>\n
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\n…and instability between its root and fifth (C and Gb):
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\n…as opposed to the diminished seventh chord, which has absolutely no degree of stability.<\/p>\nApproaches To The Chord Formation Of The Half-Diminished Seventh Chord<\/h2>\n
Scale Approach<\/em> To The Chord Formation Of The Half-Diminished Seventh Chord<\/h3>\n
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\n…all white notes.<\/p>\n“How do I form the locrian scale in all the keys?”<\/em><\/h4>\n
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\n…from C to C:
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\nStarting from C:
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\n…If I continue to add other tones of the Db major scale to it…<\/p>\n
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\n…add Eb:
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\n…add F:
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\n…etc. until I get to C again:
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\n<\/p>\n
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\n…I will continue to add other tones of the Gb major scale to it…<\/p>\n
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\n…add Ab:
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\n…add Bb:
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\n…add Cb:
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\n…etc. until I get back to F:
\n<\/p>\n
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\nC# locrian scale:
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\nD locrian scale:
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\nD# locrian scale:
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\nE locrian scale:
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\nF locrian scale:
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\nF# locrian scale:
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\nG: locrian scale:
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\nG# locrian scale:
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\nA locrian scale:
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\nA# locrian scale:
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\nB locrian scale:
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\nThe half-diminished seventh chord can be formed using the locrian scale if you are familiar with my pick-skip technique<\/em>.<\/p>\n
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\n…skip Db and pick Eb:
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\n…skip F and pick Gb:
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\n…skip Ab and pick Bb:
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\nSo put together, C, Eb, Gb, and Bb will produce the C half-diminished seventh chord:
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\nFollowing this procedure using any of the locrian scales we covered, you can form the half-diminished seventh chord in all the keys.<\/p>\nInterval Approach<\/em> To The Chord Formation Of The Half-Diminished Seventh Chord<\/h3>\n
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\n…a minor third.<\/p>\n
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\n…a diminished fifth.<\/p>\n
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\n…a minor seventh.<\/p>\n
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\nNow, let me show you in a couple more keys…<\/p>\n
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\n…a minor third<\/p>\n
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\n…a diminished fifth.<\/p>\n
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\n…a minor seventh.<\/p>\n
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\n…which consists of F, Ab, Cb, and Eb.<\/p>\n
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\n…a minor third<\/p>\n
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\n…a diminished fifth.<\/p>\n
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\n…a minor seventh.<\/p>\nChord Approach To The Chord Formation Of The Half-Diminished Seventh Chord<\/h3>\n
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\nIf the fifth tone (G):
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\n…is lowered by a half step (to Gb):
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\n…we’ll have the half-diminished seventh chord:
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\nHere’s, side-by-side, the minor seventh chord and the half-diminished seventh chord in all 12 keys:<\/p>\n