Alex, I have to show restraint and not comment on every video, as I'd just be babbling about how well-constructed your lessons are. Couldn't resist this time, however -- though this is familiar territory to me, I'm so impressed by your ability to focus closely enough on a huge topic so that the eyes of relatively inexperienced players don't glaze over, while at the same time providing a glimpse of all that's possible with the versatile (and ambiguous!) dim. chord. Can't say enough good about the way you structure your lessons. ... Great to see Louis, too!
Thank you so much for the kind, encouraging words!.. I'm so glad you enjoy these videos and my teaching style.. it really means a lot to me. As I've said before, we've been swimming in the same waters for so long now, it's always kinda comforting to see your name pop up on my feed, so again, thank you for the comment. If you like it, I must be doing something right! ☺️ I've decided that this video will be the first in a series on the diminished chord (released sporadically).. like you say, there's so much to speak about when it comes to this chord and soooo many uses for it!
I forgot to tell you : looking this one makes me smile, almost laugh, how fancy, magical and beautiful all those voicing are. Short happiness moments I love. Thank you Alex 🙏
Wow thanks man, that’s really kind of you to say! Hopefully it’ll provide a nice, clean starting point to work from. More videos to follow on more uses for the diminished! Thanks again mate 🙏🏻🧡
Lesson followed through and thoroughly enjoyable , great theory take-aways which help understanding , and the addition of your assistant was a very welcome distraction...purrrfect!
One of my favorite vids ! Thank you so much. I don’t play better (yet) but feel I’m smarter (well, I started from bottom, so it was easy…) 🙏 I’ll watch this one again and again
Excellent explanation and application of diminshed chords . Just subscribed and joined . Even though my hands are not small I always struggled wrapping my thumb around. Definitely opens more possibilites. 50 yrs of playing and there is always more to experience and apply.
I was a bit late to the party catching this video, so many apologies. Alex, this is by FAR the best explanation of diminished chords on youtube. I feel the need to comment 9 days after you posted it, because last night, as I was showing my younger brother (he's more of a singer/songwriter first position chords type player) how to play a few Beatles songs, I found myself attempting to explain to him how a diminished chord works in a song as a kind of a "glue" between other chords. It then occurred to me that, why am I trying to explain this to him, when Alex Farran already explained it WAYYYYY better than I ever could, right? So I cued up this video, and we both watched it together, guitars in hand, frequently pausing & rewinding the video. Your 20 minute video accomplished what I haven't been able to teach him at all over the last 20 years!!! He now understands how diminished chords work, and where to find them on the fretboard (repeating every minor 3rd, etc). A little bit of icing on the cake was that he also picked up a few 6, 6/9, & M7 & voicings, etc. You are such an exemplary teacher, Alex...calm, patient, organized, methodical, friendly... The look on my brother's face as he was learning and experiencing breakthrough "A HA" moments spoke volumes. He felt like he was being invited into the top secret diminished chord club!! 🤣 So I guess that means that you're basically the leader of the youtube guitar teaching Freemasons, Alex!!! 🤣🤣🤣 I'm super excited to see what you have in store for the next diminished lesson!! They're fascinating chords, aren't they?! I just KNOW that Django Reinhardt will be involved!!! Thank you so very much for this!!!! 🙏🙌
Ah my friend!.. what a beautiful comment, thank you so much! Reading this has absolutely made my week! 🙏🏻 I’m so glad the lesson helped make sense of things, and to hear that it’s inspiring other players and songwriters is a real joy. Haha yes indeed.. Django is never far away, and will for sure be mentioned heavily in the next diminished video. Without giving too much away, I’m intending to cover a particular favourite trick of Django’s as well as many other soloists and composers in that pre-war swing era. Also, gotta get an augmented video done soon! 🤪 Thanks as always for your comments mate, people like yourself represent the best of what this community and platform has to offer 🙏🏻🧡
Think you could play anything on that guitar and it would sound gorgeous. Just starting to expand my knowledge of "jazz" chords, great playing and teaching, thanks Alex.
Thanks for the kind words buddy.. glad you're enjoying getting into some jazz chords! Do check out my "jazz survival guide" and "THIS is what you should be doing with your triads" videos! ;)
Wow! That was excellent, Alex. It took me two mornings, but I went through and played every single example. It's quite a fretboard workout and opens up a lot of possibilities. Thank you.
Great lesson, Alex! It resolved a particular confusion about chord shapes and fret numbers. When I see the Diminished shape on the low E string, and the D, G, and B strings, my "guitarist's assumption" gives it the name of the note on the low E string (i.e,. notes on fret 5 of the low E string and frets 4, 5, 4 on the other three strings [A, F#, C, D#] are the root, flat dominant 7, flat 3, flat 5) of an A diminished chord. I now understand that my "guitarist's assumption" is invalid for the other role that exact same chord shape can have as a 7b9. Moved up one fret, to 6 , 5, 6, 5 so that the note on the low E string is a Bb and the others are G, C#, and E that chord is a rootless A7b9, with the flat 9 on the low E string, followed by the dominant 7, the 3 and the 5 (that last three now all "un-flatted"). This is a bit mind-blowing for me, but it makes perfect sense. Of course, depending on the context, that same chord could be called a Bb diminished, and my starting point of an A diminished could just as well be called a G#7b9. A long overdue light bulb has just turned on!!! 💡
Amazing comment! 👌🏻 So glad this has helped things to fall into place! Your summary of the diminished is absolutely spot-on my friend. Thanks for taking the time to comment.. I massively appreciate it 🙏🏻🍻
Just discovered this channel and have been bingeing on the lessons! Recommend it to my brother too. Alex, I hope your channel grows and rewards your obvious hard work. Well done and thank you! 👏
Thanks for another great one Alex! I already understood the diminished fairly well but that ii-V-I voicing workout over 3 sets of 4 strings is priceless!! That move from CM7 to C6 with the root on the 3rd fret of the 5th string is a real tendon stretcher! Can't wait for the follow up on soloing!!
That diminished chord is so cool. Link Wray with Robert Gordon used it on " I Sure Miss You " in E. I remember the day I first discovered it....thought I was playing an A7 then added ring finger and pinky and there it was, by accident...could move it anywhere ! Before that, I was just cheating it by strumming the Aminor chord. Thanks for the in depth analysis of the diminised chords 😎🤟
Thanks for the comment buddy! Oh nice!.. good to see Robert Gordon and Link Wray getting a mention! The diminished is so useful right?! Awesome chord 👌🏻
Thank you Alex. Some very classy chords. Give Louis a clap from me, and a biscuit 😸 No apple for teacher, but I done my homework on Dorado Schmitt. One hell of a musician with a sense of humour to match. very cool. One you may enjoy if you have time, Robben Ford & Bill Evans recent colab "Common Ground." Robben has been on my playlists for years now, a true living legend who is not scared to experiment across genres.
Thanks Graeme! And Louis says thanks too! 😆 Oh that’s great!.. glad you’re into Dorado Schmitt! 🙏🏻 Thanks for the Robben Ford suggestion.. will check it out.. always liked Robben’s playing 👌🏻
I love diminished in conjunction with secondary dominants.❤ real quick pass play 2nd dom into dim leading to destination...my pieces are becoming dominated by this..,??? In C maj can i play em7b5 into fmajor ...sounds alright to me?..
Great lesson. I've been thinking a lot about how (for me) there are 2 different types of diminished chords. The first type of diminished chord actually functions like a dominant chord (or a dominant 7b9 chord). Your lesson cover this first style of diminished chord. But then there are the other (more old-fashioned) diminished chords you find in old songs. For example, G to Go7 to Ami7 to D7. The Go7 has no dominant function. It's just there to create a bit of tension before moving to the Am7. Same thing when you hear a vamp like: G to Bbo7 to Am7 to D7. Additionally, there's the #IV diminished chord that usually resolves back to the root chord, like this progression in C, which is so popular (and used in the Lovin' Spoonful's Daydream). F to F#o7 to C to A7.
Shhh don’t spoil my next 2 diminished chord videos! 🤫 Joking aside, that’s exactly how I think of it too. Those are certainly the 3 primary uses. This lesson of course was intended to just tackle one of those uses. There are other lessons where I mention the other aspects.. going into the Barry Harris theory of there being 2 dims commonly in a turnaround.. one a semitone below the ii and one a semitone above the ii ..(bviii dim being the same as I dim of course). But these definitely deserve individual lessons of their own. I plan to cover the I dim and how Django used it in solos over a static I or even over the V on some occasions too. Also the other common use of the dim found especially in the pre-war jazz era; the I dim Major 7th.. often leading to the V. So much to cover! Thanks for the comment buddy 🙏🏻🍻
Ha ha........I'm really looking forward to the next lesson on diminished chords. I do like how a #IV diminished chord "sounds like it's resolving in a dominant fashion", especially if the 5th is in the bass of the I chord. In G, C#o7 > G/D. Thanks for clearing up the various types of diminished chords!
That's a great question! So, let's say we're thinking of just triads in the key of C for example; the V is a G Major triad and the vii is a B diminished triad.. you can see the notes from a B dim triad would represent the 3rd, 5th and b7 of a G7 chord. If we take that Bdim triad and stack another 3rd on top making it a Bm7b5 chord, this extra note, (the A in this case), would be the 9 on the G7 chord.. G9 would be the resulting combination of these two elements. Now, what we're doing here is slightly different in that we're using a full B diminished 7th chord, (which has an Ab rather than a A note from the Bm7b5 chord).. thus adding a flat 9 as opposed to a natural 9 on our G7 chord. There are a lot of ways to think about this, but a fairly elegant way is to think of it as if we're borrowing from the parallel minor key. Man, a tough one to answer in writing, wish I could just show you!.. perhaps I'll cover this in a follow up video!
@@AlexFarranGuitar so Bdim resolves to C because it implies a G that isn't played; presumably that means the same chord if you called it Ddim would resolve to Eb because it implies a Bb that isn't played etc Seriously dredging up my Grade 5 Theory here...
@@9outof10 you’ve got it!.. each diminished could resolve to 4 possible places. Powerful knowledge especially if you want to stealthily shift to another key centre 👌🏻
That makes sense because when you get to the fourth one you are at the next inversion of the first. Although it’s true it is not as useful as knowing when to use them.
Alex, I have to show restraint and not comment on every video, as I'd just be babbling about how well-constructed your lessons are. Couldn't resist this time, however -- though this is familiar territory to me, I'm so impressed by your ability to focus closely enough on a huge topic so that the eyes of relatively inexperienced players don't glaze over, while at the same time providing a glimpse of all that's possible with the versatile (and ambiguous!) dim. chord. Can't say enough good about the way you structure your lessons. ... Great to see Louis, too!
Thank you so much for the kind, encouraging words!.. I'm so glad you enjoy these videos and my teaching style.. it really means a lot to me. As I've said before, we've been swimming in the same waters for so long now, it's always kinda comforting to see your name pop up on my feed, so again, thank you for the comment. If you like it, I must be doing something right! ☺️
I've decided that this video will be the first in a series on the diminished chord (released sporadically).. like you say, there's so much to speak about when it comes to this chord and soooo many uses for it!
Agreed. This is really great stuff. Thank you!
@@Mr2012jeromethanks so much! 🙏🏻
I forgot to tell you : looking this one makes me smile, almost laugh, how fancy, magical and beautiful all those voicing are. Short happiness moments I love. Thank you Alex 🙏
Ah thank you so much my friend, I’m so glad you love these diminished sounds! 🙏🏻🧡
Ah early morning coffee with my favourite guitarist playing my favourites chords .. nice
Thank you mate, you’re very kind 🙏🏻
How can anyone concentrate on the lesson with Louis in the picture. Love that cat Alex.
Haha that’s a fair point Martin! Louis says thanks 😺😄
Couple of lightbulb moments in this lesson for me thanks!
So happy to hear that Mark, thanks for the comment ☺️
Hey Alex, no doubt...this is the best diminished lesson on YT right now!! Thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge 🙏🏻
Wow thanks man, that’s really kind of you to say! Hopefully it’ll provide a nice, clean starting point to work from. More videos to follow on more uses for the diminished!
Thanks again mate 🙏🏻🧡
Lesson followed through and thoroughly enjoyable , great theory take-aways which help understanding , and the addition of your assistant was a very welcome distraction...purrrfect!
Ah thank you buddy, I really appreciate the comment.. as does Louis the furry helper I’m sure 😂🐈
Theoretically, so clear, precise. Terrific player, teacher and presenter 😊 Thanks very much. Subscribed now 👍
@@daithi48 thank you so much! I really appreciate the kind words 🙏🏻
One of my favorite vids ! Thank you so much. I don’t play better (yet) but feel I’m smarter (well, I started from bottom, so it was easy…) 🙏 I’ll watch this one again and again
Thank you, I love your enthusiasm! 👌🏻
Fantastic video, clear instruction, beautiful playing. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed the lesson, and thanks so much for the comment 🙏🏻
Excellent explanation and application of diminshed chords . Just subscribed and joined . Even though my hands are not small I always struggled wrapping my thumb around. Definitely opens more possibilites. 50 yrs of playing and there is always more to experience and apply.
Thanks for the comment buddy, really glad you found the lesson useful! 🙏🏻
I was a bit late to the party catching this video, so many apologies. Alex, this is by FAR the best explanation of diminished chords on youtube. I feel the need to comment 9 days after you posted it, because last night, as I was showing my younger brother (he's more of a singer/songwriter first position chords type player) how to play a few Beatles songs, I found myself attempting to explain to him how a diminished chord works in a song as a kind of a "glue" between other chords. It then occurred to me that, why am I trying to explain this to him, when Alex Farran already explained it WAYYYYY better than I ever could, right? So I cued up this video, and we both watched it together, guitars in hand, frequently pausing & rewinding the video. Your 20 minute video accomplished what I haven't been able to teach him at all over the last 20 years!!! He now understands how diminished chords work, and where to find them on the fretboard (repeating every minor 3rd, etc). A little bit of icing on the cake was that he also picked up a few 6, 6/9, & M7 & voicings, etc. You are such an exemplary teacher, Alex...calm, patient, organized, methodical, friendly... The look on my brother's face as he was learning and experiencing breakthrough "A HA" moments spoke volumes. He felt like he was being invited into the top secret diminished chord club!! 🤣 So I guess that means that you're basically the leader of the youtube guitar teaching Freemasons, Alex!!! 🤣🤣🤣 I'm super excited to see what you have in store for the next diminished lesson!! They're fascinating chords, aren't they?! I just KNOW that Django Reinhardt will be involved!!! Thank you so very much for this!!!! 🙏🙌
Oh, forgot to add that we both LOVED Louis!!! 🥰 I'm very keen to follow the further adventures of Louis!!! He should be in every single video!!!! 😍
Ah my friend!.. what a beautiful comment, thank you so much! Reading this has absolutely made my week! 🙏🏻 I’m so glad the lesson helped make sense of things, and to hear that it’s inspiring other players and songwriters is a real joy.
Haha yes indeed.. Django is never far away, and will for sure be mentioned heavily in the next diminished video. Without giving too much away, I’m intending to cover a particular favourite trick of Django’s as well as many other soloists and composers in that pre-war swing era.
Also, gotta get an augmented video done soon! 🤪
Thanks as always for your comments mate, people like yourself represent the best of what this community and platform has to offer 🙏🏻🧡
Haha I will do my best to get him involved in every video.. he’s a little grumpy though .. a typical starlet 😂
Good lord! So good man! Great explanation, and great playing!
Ah thanks Matt, very kind of you 🙏🏻 More videos on the other diminished chord uses coming very soon too! 😺
Thanks Alex, this is so helpful.
My pleasure Jake, thanks for the comment 🙏🏻
Beautiful lesson! And very useful!! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you my friend, really happy you enjoyed it! 🙏🏻
Think you could play anything on that guitar and it would sound gorgeous. Just starting to expand my knowledge of "jazz" chords, great playing and teaching, thanks Alex.
Thanks for the kind words buddy.. glad you're enjoying getting into some jazz chords! Do check out my "jazz survival guide" and "THIS is what you should be doing with your triads" videos! ;)
Wow! That was excellent, Alex. It took me two mornings, but I went through and played every single example. It's quite a fretboard workout and opens up a lot of possibilities. Thank you.
That is so good to hear!.. really glad you enjoyed it buddy! Thanks for the comment 🙏🏻
Great lesson, Alex! It resolved a particular confusion about chord shapes and fret numbers. When I see the Diminished shape on the low E string, and the D, G, and B strings, my "guitarist's assumption" gives it the name of the note on the low E string (i.e,. notes on fret 5 of the low E string and frets 4, 5, 4 on the other three strings [A, F#, C, D#] are the root, flat dominant 7, flat 3, flat 5) of an A diminished chord. I now understand that my "guitarist's assumption" is invalid for the other role that exact same chord shape can have as a 7b9. Moved up one fret, to 6 , 5, 6, 5 so that the note on the low E string is a Bb and the others are G, C#, and E that chord is a rootless A7b9, with the flat 9 on the low E string, followed by the dominant 7, the 3 and the 5 (that last three now all "un-flatted"). This is a bit mind-blowing for me, but it makes perfect sense. Of course, depending on the context, that same chord could be called a Bb diminished, and my starting point of an A diminished could just as well be called a G#7b9. A long overdue light bulb has just turned on!!! 💡
Amazing comment! 👌🏻 So glad this has helped things to fall into place! Your summary of the diminished is absolutely spot-on my friend. Thanks for taking the time to comment.. I massively appreciate it 🙏🏻🍻
Just discovered this channel and have been bingeing on the lessons! Recommend it to my brother too.
Alex, I hope your channel grows and rewards your obvious hard work. Well done and thank you! 👏
Wow, thanks so much Thomas! I really appreciate the comment my friend. Glad you enjoy the videos 🙏🏻🧡
Awesome teaching skills
Ah thanks man, that's very kind of you. I really appreciate the comment 🙏🏻
Wow, you just answered my question. I was playing this chord wondering what it was the root was, came on youtube and this video was there.
Awesome! Glad to hear that mate! 🙏🏻
I love these lessons! So much useful information. Thank you. Keep them coming.
Thanks Randy, that means a lot to me 🙏🏻☺️
Thanks for another great one Alex! I already understood the diminished fairly well but that ii-V-I voicing workout over 3 sets of 4 strings is priceless!! That move from CM7 to C6 with the root on the 3rd fret of the 5th string is a real tendon stretcher! Can't wait for the follow up on soloing!!
That’s so good to hear!.. thank you for the comment Ruch. Glad you got some new ideas from the lesson 🙏🏻☺️
Another killer lesson! I’ll have to book a Zoom lesson soon 🎸😂
Thanks James!.. and yes, just drop an email over when you fancy booking something in 👌🏻
@@AlexFarranGuitar I definitely will!🎸🎵
Endless ! Love all these tricks to make music the fanciest ! Thanks Alex 🙏
Right?!.. Diminished opens so many doors!
That diminished chord is so cool. Link Wray with Robert Gordon used it on " I Sure Miss You " in E. I remember the day I first discovered it....thought I was playing an A7 then added ring finger and pinky and there it was, by accident...could move it anywhere ! Before that, I was just cheating it by strumming the Aminor chord.
Thanks for the in depth analysis of the diminised chords 😎🤟
Thanks for the comment buddy! Oh nice!.. good to see Robert Gordon and Link Wray getting a mention! The diminished is so useful right?! Awesome chord 👌🏻
Sweet. Thank you.
My pleasure mate 🙏🏻
Thank you Alex. Some very classy chords. Give Louis a clap from me, and a biscuit 😸 No apple for teacher, but I done my homework on Dorado Schmitt. One hell of a musician with a sense of humour to match. very cool. One you may enjoy if you have time, Robben Ford & Bill Evans recent colab "Common Ground." Robben has been on my playlists for years now, a true living legend who is not scared to experiment across genres.
Thanks Graeme! And Louis says thanks too! 😆
Oh that’s great!.. glad you’re into Dorado Schmitt! 🙏🏻
Thanks for the Robben Ford suggestion.. will check it out.. always liked Robben’s playing 👌🏻
Really informative, definitely looking to book a zoom lesson. Thanks for doing what you do
Thanks for the comment, I really appreciate it 🙏🏻 Just drop me an email when you’re ready to book in! 👍🏻
Thank you so much for your lessons. Really helping me learn.
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for commenting 🙏🏻
Another good one ....thank you ( meow ) ...Alex !
Hehe me and Louis thank you 🙏🏻
what a nice guitar
Thanks buddy!
Used to good effect in Michelle by The Beatles
Absolutely! 👌🏻
My hand recoiled in horror when it saw your configuration @ 11:09
🤣🤣
Wow an excellent lesson what is the make and model of your guitar? it looks and sounds beautiful 💖
Thank you! It’s a vintage 1953 Gibson es125 archtop 👌🏻
I love diminished in conjunction with secondary dominants.❤ real quick pass play 2nd dom into dim leading to destination...my pieces are becoming dominated by this..,??? In C maj can i play em7b5 into fmajor ...sounds alright to me?..
Thanks buddy! Yes indeed, that’ll work. Like a rootless C9 to Fmajor (V-I type movement as you say) 👌🏻
Great lesson. I've been thinking a lot about how (for me) there are 2 different types of diminished chords. The first type of diminished chord actually functions like a dominant chord (or a dominant 7b9 chord). Your lesson cover this first style of diminished chord.
But then there are the other (more old-fashioned) diminished chords you find in old songs. For example, G to Go7 to Ami7 to D7. The Go7 has no dominant function. It's just there to create a bit of tension before moving to the Am7. Same thing when you hear a vamp like: G to Bbo7 to Am7 to D7.
Additionally, there's the #IV diminished chord that usually resolves back to the root chord, like this progression in C, which is so popular (and used in the Lovin' Spoonful's Daydream). F to F#o7 to C to A7.
Shhh don’t spoil my next 2 diminished chord videos! 🤫
Joking aside, that’s exactly how I think of it too. Those are certainly the 3 primary uses. This lesson of course was intended to just tackle one of those uses.
There are other lessons where I mention the other aspects.. going into the Barry Harris theory of there being 2 dims commonly in a turnaround.. one a semitone below the ii and one a semitone above the ii ..(bviii dim being the same as I dim of course). But these definitely deserve individual lessons of their own. I plan to cover the I dim and how Django used it in solos over a static I or even over the V on some occasions too.
Also the other common use of the dim found especially in the pre-war jazz era; the I dim Major 7th.. often leading to the V. So much to cover!
Thanks for the comment buddy 🙏🏻🍻
Ha ha........I'm really looking forward to the next lesson on diminished chords.
I do like how a #IV diminished chord "sounds like it's resolving in a dominant fashion", especially if the 5th is in the bass of the I chord. In G, C#o7 > G/D.
Thanks for clearing up the various types of diminished chords!
Are diminished chords and 7th chords typically the same thing? In other words, is the 7th chord always a diminished chord?
That's a great question! So, let's say we're thinking of just triads in the key of C for example; the V is a G Major triad and the vii is a B diminished triad.. you can see the notes from a B dim triad would represent the 3rd, 5th and b7 of a G7 chord.
If we take that Bdim triad and stack another 3rd on top making it a Bm7b5 chord, this extra note, (the A in this case), would be the 9 on the G7 chord.. G9 would be the resulting combination of these two elements.
Now, what we're doing here is slightly different in that we're using a full B diminished 7th chord, (which has an Ab rather than a A note from the Bm7b5 chord).. thus adding a flat 9 as opposed to a natural 9 on our G7 chord. There are a lot of ways to think about this, but a fairly elegant way is to think of it as if we're borrowing from the parallel minor key.
Man, a tough one to answer in writing, wish I could just show you!.. perhaps I'll cover this in a follow up video!
@@AlexFarranGuitar hah. My head is spinning a bit. Gotta grab my guitar and look at it with my fingers. Thanks for the detailed reply.
Flashback, I'm in year 12 and my music teacher is telling me there are only 3(?) diminished chords, just inverted differently
Haha, man I wish I’d had a music teacher who told us that! 😎
@@AlexFarranGuitar so Bdim resolves to C because it implies a G that isn't played; presumably that means the same chord if you called it Ddim would resolve to Eb because it implies a Bb that isn't played etc
Seriously dredging up my Grade 5 Theory here...
@@9outof10 you’ve got it!.. each diminished could resolve to 4 possible places. Powerful knowledge especially if you want to stealthily shift to another key centre 👌🏻
That makes sense because when you get to the fourth one you are at the next inversion of the first. Although it’s true it is not as useful as knowing when to use them.
Nice
What don’t you know?
Will let that osmosis in for a night or two and watch it again
Man, there's so much left for me to learn.. but that's the joy of it!.. it's a lifetime's work. Glad you enjoyed it buddy :)