diminished scale

The sounds created by the diminished grouping of pitches could very well extend to the outer limits of the colors which create various hues within the equal temperament. Although basically minor in color, due to the quality of its third scale degree, and unlike most of the other minor scales, the diminished color is not used to generate a tonal center. Potentially so essential to the modern creative musician, the symmetrical diminished color embodies most of the artistic qualities not found within either the diatonic major or minor tonal environments.

So why is this diminished color potentially so important? Well, for starters, there is little to no tonal stability in the diminished color. It is like a free radical in physics, always bouncing along looking for something to bond with, or in perhaps more musical context, to resolve too. In terms of creating tension and release, the diminished sounds create an obvious tension hen sounded, that seeks to resolve towards the tonic stability of either of the major or minor tonal environments. Even moving from the diminished color to the tritone containing dominant seventh sound provides quite a bit of respite from the tension created by the diminished grouping of pitches, as it is even more apparent moving to tonic. Example 1.

Cool huh? There's nothing the diminished chord in action, simply one of a kind. So part of the importance of the diminished sounds is in it's ability to quickly generate quite a bit of obvious artistic tension? Yep.

Furthermore, in practical use of this color, the diminished sound creates perhaps the ultimate non diatonic passing chord of all time. Occasionally used in the blues, rarely if ever in rock, folk music, the diminished sound and its properties are a integral component of jazz literature, especially in the writing and performance of jazz standards, the compositions that many emerging jazz players "cut their teeth on" in learning the language of jazz. As a passing chord, the diminished color can really energize a chord progression and provide an additional melodic element which adds excitement to the music. Working as a catalyst, the diminished color can greatly increase the sense of tonal gravity and accelerate the motion between the chosen elements of diatonic chord progressions. This process of accelerating the tonal gravity between musical elements is sometimes referred to as forward motion. Here the jazz essential, tonic / # 1 dim / ii min 7 / V 7 etc. Example 2.

Even furthermore, the unique structure of the diminished scale creates a situation whereby one group of pitches, configured as a diminished scale, can resolve to multiple tonal centers and tonalities. Not only does understanding the theory of its resolutions potentially reduce the amount of theoretical material to be learned, but as a compositional and improvisational tool, the diminished color provides a smooth transition color between the more stable environments for the creative artist. This multiple resolution ability is usually associated with the dominant seventh flat nine chord ( V 7b9 ), so common in the jazz world, where the diminished color is contained within the upper structure of this chord.

Even furthermore still, that these intervalic resolving properties of the diminished color is used with any chords. I call this process a softening of the colors, blurring the barlines and cadential motions with less definite chordal hues, often shifted by the half step / whole step / minor 3rd intervals of the diminished sounds. This can open a vast melodic and harmonic palette for the creative artist who is willing to "stretch things a bit" theoretically, and gradually move into the world of polytonality, the new theoretical environment created by these "softened" colors, a place where many modern and advanced jazz players have been known to hang out. 

Each of the five areas of discussion from above are examined in the following links. A discussion of the theory of the diminished scales construction is also included as a starting point for beginning learners. Choose from the following five choices to begin to explore some of the magical properties of the diminished color. A quick pass top to bottom of the following topics for those readers new to this color should be helpful in gaining some initial skills with this modern color.

I have never met a person who was not my superior in some particular. Ralph Waldo Emerson