[Dixielandjazz] Diminished chord question

[Aaron]

Can't answer the original question about very early jazz musicians, but I love dim7 chords so I'll take a moment to talk about them. ;-)

Very common in 1920s and 30s music -- I'd say more so in tunes borrowed from Tin Pan Alley and show/popular music than original jazz tunes.
 
Usage is most often chromatic movement, often toward or away from a dom7 chord. A dim7 chord is identical to the dom7 chord a half step lower, except for the root. For instance, the upper 3 notes of a cdim7 chord are the same as a C#7 chord.

It also accommodates chromatic movement of the melody or "blue notes" when the melody sits on the 3rd or 5th of a chord.
 
An interesting side note: 4-stringed instruments (tenor/plec banjo, uke, mando, etc.), typically play dim7 chords in place of b9 (dominant flat nine) chords, but a 3rd up. The reason why: for most fretted strings, you usually modify a dom7 chord to create upper extensions. Easiest way for a b9 or 9 chord is to move the root up because that's much easier in most cases (shape-wise) than throwing away the 5th.

So for b9, you shift the root up a 1/2 step. So if you extend a C7 to a C7b9, that changes the C7 
From: C  E  G  Bb
To: Db  E  G  Bb (inverted, E  G  Bb  Db)

Or in other words, your C7 becomes an Edim7 chord. On a piano, it's inverted -- but on a 4-string fretted instrument, you can't worry much about inversions since you're constrained by string order.
 

Aaron Minnick


 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Louis Lince <louis.lince at pobroadband.co.uk>
To: Aaron Minnick <go4baroquemusic at aol.com>
Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Thu, Feb 1, 2018 1:35 pm
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Diminished chord question



Hi Ken,
 
The second theme of "Blame it on the Blues" is based on a diminished run
 
best
 
Louis
  
----- Original Message ----- 
  
From:   Ken Gates 
  
To: louis.lince at pobroadband.co.uk   
  
Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List   
  
Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2018 4:03   PM
  
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Diminished chord   question
  


  
  
Does anyone   have an example of a jazz tune constructed upon a series of diminished 7   chords?
  


  
Did the very   early jazz musicians use diminished 7 chords in their play?
  


  
I do remember   reading that Bunk Johnson and George Lewis had difference of opinion
  
about   diminished chords.  Bunk for, George opposed.
  


  
Ken   Gates


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