music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the " rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (k ...

, a diminished triad (also known as the minor flatted fifth) is a

triad Triad or triade may refer to: * a group of three Businesses and organisations * Triad (American fraternities), certain historic groupings of seminal college fraternities in North America * Triad (organized crime), a Chinese transnational orga ...

consisting of two minor thirds above the

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...

. It is a

minor triad In music theory, a minor chord is a chord that has a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord comprises only these three notes, it is called a minor triad. For example, the minor triad built on C, called a C minor triad, has pitc ...

with a lowered ( flattened) fifth. When using chord symbols, it may be indicated by the symbols "dim", "", "m⁵", or "MI⁽⁵⁾". However, in most popular-music chord books, the symbol "dim" and "" represents a

diminished seventh chord The diminished seventh chord is a four-note chord (a seventh chord) composed of a root note, together with a minor third, a diminished fifth, and a diminished seventh above the root: (1, 3, 5, 7). For example, the diminished seve ...

(a four-tone chord), which in some modern jazz books and music theory books is represented by the "dim7" or "⁷" symbols. For example, the diminished triad built on C, written as C, has pitches C–E–G: : The chord can be represented by the integer notation . In the common practice period, the diminished triad is considered dissonant because of the

diminished fifth Diminished may refer to: *Diminution In Western music and music theory, diminution (from Medieval Latin ''diminutio'', alteration of Latin ''deminutio'', decrease) has four distinct meanings. Diminution may be a form of embellishment in whic ...

(or tritone).

Harmonic function

In major scales, a diminished triad occurs only on the seventh

scale degree In music theory, the scale degree is the position of a particular note on a scale relative to the tonic, the first and main note of the scale from which each octave is assumed to begin. Degrees are useful for indicating the size of intervals a ...

. For instance, in the key of C, this is a B diminished triad (B, D, F). Since the triad is built on the seventh scale degree, it is also called the '' leading-tone triad''. This chord has a dominant function. Unlike the dominant triad or dominant seventh, the leading-tone triad functions as a prolongational chord rather than a structural chord since the strong root motion by fifth is absent. On the other hand, in natural minor scales, the diminished triad occurs on the second scale degree; in the key of C minor, this is the D diminished triad (D, F, A). This triad is consequently called the ''

supertonic In music, the supertonic is the second degree () of a diatonic scale, one whole step above the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the supertonic note is sung as ''re''. The triad built on the supertonic note is called the supertonic ch ...

diminished triad''. Like the supertonic minor triad found in a major key, the supertonic diminished triad has a predominant function, almost always resolving to a dominant functioning chord. If the music is in a minor key, diminished triads can also be found on the raised seventh note, vii. This is because the

ascending melodic minor scale In music theory, the minor scale is three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just two as with the major scale, which also ...

has a raised sixth and seventh degree. For example, the chord progression vii–i is common. The leading-tone diminished triad and supertonic diminished triad are usually found in first inversion (vii⁶ and ii⁶, respectively) since the spelling of the chord forms a diminished fifth with the bass. This differs from the fully diminished seventh chord, which commonly occurs in root position. In both cases, the bass resolves up and the upper voices move downwards in

contrary motion In music theory, contrapuntal motion is the general movement of two melodic lines with respect to each other. In traditional four-part harmony, it is important that lines maintain their independence, an effect which can be achieved by the judiciou ...

In popular music

Walter Everett writes that "In rock and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

music, the diminished triad nearly always appears on the second scale degree, forming a generally maudlin and dejected ii with its members, 2–4–6." Songs that feature ii include Santo & Johnny's " Sleep Walk", Jay and the Americans' " Cara Mia", and

The Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band ...

' "

The Air That I Breathe "The Air That I Breathe" is a ballad written by British-Gibraltarian singer-songwriter Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood, initially recorded by Hammond on his debut album, '' It Never Rains in Southern California'' (1972). It was a major hit for ...

". Not so rare but rare enough so as to imply knowledge of and conscious avoidance on the part of rock musicians, examples of its use include

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

' " Don't Look Back in Anger",

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's "

Space Oddity "Space Oddity" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was first released on 11 July 1969 by Philips Records as a 7-inch single, then as the opening track of his second studio album '' David Bowie''. After the commercial ...

", and two in Daryl Hall's " Everytime You Go Away". The vii in major keys is relatively less common than the ii, but still does happen. It is almost always used to tonicize the relative minor, in progressions such as vii–V⁷/vi–vi, which resembles ii–V⁷–i in the relative minor.

Tuning

In a twelve-tone equal temperament, a diminished triad has three semitones between the third and fifth, three semitones between the root and third, and six semitones between the root and fifth. In

5-limit Five-limit tuning, 5-limit tuning, or 5-prime-limit tuning (not to be confused with 5-odd-limit tuning), is any system for tuning a musical instrument that obtains the frequency of each note by multiplying the frequency of a given reference note ...

just intonation In music, just intonation or pure intonation is the tuning of musical intervals as whole number ratios (such as 3:2 or 4:3) of frequencies. An interval tuned in this way is said to be pure, and is called a just interval. Just intervals (and ...

, the diminished chord on VII (in C: B–D–F) is 15:8, 9:8, and 4:3, while on II (in C: D–F–A) it is 9:8, 4:3, and 8:5 (135:160:192). According to Georg Andreas Sorge, the

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, in its overtone series on C, gives the diminished triad E–G–B = 5:6:7 ("perfect diminished chord"), but the 7 is too flat and 45:54:64 is preferred.

Helmholtz Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (31 August 1821 – 8 September 1894) was a German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability. The Helmholtz Associatio ...

describes the diminished triad as ₁ − D , F, giving a just minor third and Pythagorean minor third (45:54:64) in the notation system used in '' On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music''. Play , (5-limit major), or on C. :

Diminished chord table

References

Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diminished Triad Chord Chords

Harmonic function

In popular music

Tuning

Diminished chord table

See also

References