Do you know that the Diminished 7ths are only three in number?
I know you are shocked because I gave all diminished 7th chords from 12 different positions.
Today, I am going to show you why the Diminished 7ths are only three and how it aids our practice.
Look at the C diminished 7th (C°7) chord below:
C – Eb – Gb – Bbb (A)
We can invert it in 3 other positions beyond the root position.
Eb – Gb – Bbb [A] – Dbb [C] [1st inversion of C°7 = Ebdim7]
Gb – Bbb [A] – Dbb [C] – Fbb[Eb] [2nd inversion of C°7 = Gbdim7]
A – C – Eb – Gb [3rd inversion of C°7 = Adim7]
Does that solve the Puzzle?
This same thing happens for the Db diminished 7th chord and the D diminished 7th chord as well. They all have 4 positions for each (Root and the other 3 inversions)
Except for theory, but in reality, we on have 3 unique diminished 7th chords and their inversions.
Here are the three groups where each diminished 7th chord in a group is an inversion of the others:
Group 1:
C°7 (C – Eb – Gb – Bbb)
Eb°7 (Eb – Gb – Bbb – Dbb) [1st inversion of C°7]
Gb°7 (Gb – Bbb – Dbb – Fbb) [2nd inversion of C°7]
A°7 (A – C – Eb – Gb) [3rd inversion of C°7, Bbb = A]
Group 2:
C#°7 (C# – E – G – Bb)
E°7 (E – G – Bb – Db) [1st inversion of C#°7]
G°7 (G – Bb – Db – Fb) [2nd inversion of C#°7]
Bb°7 (Bb – Db – Fb – Abb) [3rd inversion of C#°7]
Group 3:
D°7 (D – F – Ab – Cb)
F°7 (F – Ab – Cb – Ebb) [1st inversion of D°7]
Ab°7 (Ab – Cb – Ebb – Gbb) [2nd inversion of D°7]
B°7 (B – D – F – Ab) [3rd inversion of D°7, Cb = B]
How to Practice:
- Practice each group in the sequence above both ascending and descending.
- Set your metronome to 4/4 (4 beats/counts) and play each chord for a single count.
- Recommended fingering is 1,2,3,5(Righthand) and 5,3,2,1 (Left hand). Sometimes 1,2,3,4(R.H) works when black note is at the top.