At this point I can only marvel at how easily Tommaso puts together all these ideas. I just started the chord mastery course last week... a year from now I am hoping to be able to see it a lot more clearly. A truly gifted teacher and I love his sense of humor too.
..ero giunto a questa conclusione qualche tempo fa, fidandomi delle mie orecchie, prima di affrontare il problema teorico..assolutamente d'accordo..bravo..buon lavoro :-)
Great video, good and clear explanations without being too simple or overly complicated. The most important part of this video starts at 11:50 and goes on until the end. If you don't want to put in the work do not expect to get good results. Without following that advice you will be wasting your time watching the rest of it.
Salute! The so called „Warning“ at the beginning, is even greater that all the very practical, helpful ,friendly and different approached lessons, that you generously publish within the web! What you do, surely roots in a blessed enlightenment!
Tommaso, I've been playing on and off for over 40 years and I always find your lessons useful, informative and easily adaptable for the seasoned guitarist. You and Rick B are my "go to" resources on the internet. Great lesson! - Joe
Also playing (and producing/mixing) for 30+ years and 100% agree - chordal structures, harmonic relevance and explanations gods are: Rick B and Tommasso
Great lesson! I’ve been going through a tough time recently but seeing a notification for another theory video from you today with that familiar welcoming voice and accent lifted my spirits a bit :) Thanks Tommaso!
I was most impressed that you showed how you can add a dim7 in between 2 chords that are somewhat far away from each other, instead of what I usually see which is 2 chords a whole step apart from each other in a major/minor scale. From what I gather its all about the Voice Leading though with the closest inversions or what sounds the best! Great work!
This is as close to music theory wizardry anyone has ever gotten. Thank you Tommaso for sharing these incredibly useful tips. I already liked dim7 chords in general, now I know much better how to use them as well.
I am a self-taught guitarist and used to just move my fingers around on the fretboard until things sounded interesting. It often felt (and probably was) a bit atonal, but I'd just repeat these riffs over and over. They sounded good to me, in an experimental way, and I just loved the feeling of sound vibrating in my body. This gave me an appreciation for a lot of unusual music, and this trick for using a diminished chord to move between things is great! I'm sure I will put this to use soon.
I happened to be working on some of these dim.7 /Maj.-Min. chord relationships in b arrangement of "Skylark" while I was riding the bus...JUST THIS MORNING! That is one freaky coincidence. Your video notification bell rang about 12 hrs later with the same subject. I've began playing guitar at 12 yrs old,and began studying theory at 17. I know exactly what you're explaining and I STILL WANT TO HEAR/SEE you do these videos. My only regret: I didn't have you as a teacher when I was 15! You have so many qualities: the "warning" was very considerate...the "deal with it" about enharmonic spelling made me laugh.... I could go on but instead I'll say this: Your book will probably be the first thing I ever buy over the internet. Much respect and gratitude from me to you.
Wow! Middle of the night here - can't sleep - stumbled on this - also LAST NIGHT couldn't sleep and lay in bed picturing a piano keyboard and was working through this myself!!! Bm7b5 --> Bdim (by flattening the A) = rootless G7b9 Looking at the circle of 4ths/5ths the diminished chords form a cross and the 'missing ' root is 2 positions to the right, so by rotating through the 3 diminished chords and adding the roots you get a V-I V-I ... all around the circle eg G7b9 ... C7b9 ... F7b9 etc --- it is truly amazing! The diminished chords are like a portal to everywhere! Thanks Tomasso and Michael - truly inspiring!
@@RoddyHaswell Thank you! I am always humbled by an educated response...my progression was BbM7-G7b9 -Cm7-F7b9....In the role of a comping guitarist for a singer (no bass or piano player),I wanted to have a chromatic bass line between BbM7 and Cm7 so I simply subbed G7b9 with Bdim7 (root pos.) Your comments expanded nicely on this topic. Until we meet again- it was my pleasure. Thanks
Thanks for this... I always knew it was a dminished chord (u can just hear it) but I never effectively used them, now I'll be able to practice better thank you.
You are a great teacher. I like the way you write things out. There are things that i have a somewhat decent understanding of, but your videos usually open up new ways of thinking of things for me. Thanks.
great help for the harmony analysis that I study at a music school just now. Tom Jobim has used a lot of these chords in his compositions, and now I can finally make some sense of what's going on there.
I've been playing for 20 years I'm just now started to learn theory. Listening to your videos as introduced me to some concepts that I wish I understood when I started playing. Thank you very much for the effort that you put into making these videos. Side note, I could listen to you read off the back of a dog food can and it would be interesting. I love your accent.
Hey, that's an idea. "Ingredients: meat substitute, sawdust, artificial flavour. Not for human consumption. Can cause upset stomach, light headache, or death" ;-)
Thanks for sharing this. Music is a language. The beauty for me is realizing that you can make stories with music. Because it's a language you can tell and transmit emotions and talk to our imagination with music. This is the really amazing thing. Not to think there is magic somewhere. But anyway, they are different ways.
I've been following your videos for a while now, they're great. Just yesterday i was looking exactly for this kind of information and boom, here you are with what i belive is the best explanation of dim7 chords there is on youtube. So, thank you sir.
Could you someday please discuss the theory behind the placement of the frets on a guitar, and why it is so imperfect. It seems to be an exercise in endless compromise seeking perfection throughout the entire fretboard. All of your lessons are masterfully taught.
C and Bbm share the 5 mode of the Fm harmonic scale - a common chord progression would be C Db Bbm C. I see the dim chord more as a dom 7b9 which could slide into any 4 major/minor chords a semitone above or below. This takes care of 2 of the diminished chords.
I’ve watched many of your lessons and this one is the best (for me anyway:). I’m always reaching for the next level of understanding in music and this adds a big leap. Will be exploring for awhile on guitar to see the possibilities. Thanks so much!
holy shit - that's how it works... i was always noodling on piano and i always have in mind that there was some way to transfer between chords smoothly by changing only a few fingers.... holy shit! thank you man!~!1`!
Such a great video!! And also I looove how I dont have to put you at 1.5x speed like sooo many other theory videos where they have 10second spaces between their sentences!
To be honest, I feel like a primary school student listening to a university lecture and I find it fascinating (I understand the words but...). I just started learning to play the guitar so sooner or later I will grab your course about chords. I dream about writing my own, personalised, unique chord progressions and solos. Btw, I like your videos, your accent and personality a lot!
You're incredible. Really, really great stuff...I've never been compelled to buy a course like I have with you. I just "get it" the way you explain theory, and that is no small feat. It makes me so excited for music and what I can do with all this information. Bravo!
I am excited to learn another way to use the diminished chords in a passing function. The next thought I have is that using the appropriate dim or dim7 would be a perfect way to set up a secondary dominant (i.e. a V/V) or secondary predominant (i.e. ii/V) that will feature smoother movement - especially when tonicizing chords in distant keys, or when making distant key modulations.
I think the halfdim and dimMaj7 chords can be employed for very similar duties. They also often nicely go up, down and to itself. That fukn dim family is damn useful and potent Cheers, bro ❤
Hey, I used to play a song that contains Bbm and C. The melody of the song and scale evolved around this type of scale : F G Ab Bb C Db E. It is a mode of the Eastern music scales like hijazz or similars. Of course the connection you present works, but they do exist in a scale together. Unless you mean the direction from C to Bb is also vital :)
@@MusicTheoryForGuitar hmm ok then I guess I didn't get that right. On another aspect though, if you can find these two chords in a scale, does that mean you can move between them without the use of an in-between diminished?
@@ChainWasp You can of course do whatever you want :) In this video I'm saying: "if you find that a transition is not smooth and you want it smoother, try these diminished chords". Also: for any two triads you can find a scale that contains them :)
Great video, although the functional resolution to the Fm doesn't, imo, have anything to do with the note a half step below the root (E). The E-Bb tritone will resolve to the root and 3rd of an F major chord, but it's the other tritone (G-C#) that resolves to the 3rd and 5th of the Fm chord. Luckily in a dim7 you have both, which is why they resolve equally well to both major and minor triads.
Am and F#m are both in the HW diminished scale (A Bb C C# D# E F#G), but they are also in the C# harmonic minor scale (C# D# E F# G# A B##), if you're ok with B## = C. As for F and A, you can use F harmonic major: F G A Bb C Db E, if you are ok with Db = C# for the A chord.
Yes, depending on what you want to learn. I have several pianists on the course, but before starting it write me at tommaso@musictheoryforguitar.com so we can see if this course is a good match to you.
![This Is Why MODES Are So Confusing To Guitar Players [Music Theory]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8z_MwotLh1M/mqdefault.jpg)
This guy is not a teacher, he's the entire school
I like how you built tension with the warning and resolved it with an excellent explanation. Great video!
Cool
great comment
At this point I can only marvel at how easily Tommaso puts together all these ideas. I just started the chord mastery course last week... a year from now I am hoping to be able to see it a lot more clearly. A truly gifted teacher and I love his sense of humor too.
..ero giunto a questa conclusione qualche tempo fa, fidandomi delle mie orecchie, prima di affrontare il problema teorico..assolutamente d'accordo..bravo..buon lavoro :-)
Why am i even watching this for free? This is amazing!!! Thank you so much. I hope your channel will grow even bigger in the nearer future!!!!!!!
Great video, good and clear explanations without being too simple or overly complicated.
The most important part of this video starts at 11:50 and goes on until the end. If you don't want to put in the work do not expect to get good results. Without following that advice you will be wasting your time watching the rest of it.
These octatonic scales are simply amazing. Each chord, using the scale, can be major, minor, major 7th, minor 7th, diminished and full diminished 7th.
Salute! The so called „Warning“ at the beginning, is even greater that all the very practical, helpful ,friendly and different approached lessons, that you generously publish within the web!
What you do, surely roots in a blessed enlightenment!
I'm just commenting so the algorithm helps you get some diffusion. I love your content, accent and personality 💕
I really appreciate that. Thanks!
ditto XD
Same here!
Your theory hacks are absolutely mindblowing.
This is an amazing trick specially when you get lost in your song writing and dont know how to get to the first degree. THANK YOU.
Tommaso, I've been playing on and off for over 40 years and I always find your lessons useful, informative and easily adaptable for the seasoned guitarist. You and Rick B are my "go to" resources on the internet. Great lesson! - Joe
Also playing (and producing/mixing) for 30+ years and 100% agree - chordal structures, harmonic relevance and explanations gods are: Rick B and Tommasso
I just put a very similar comment on another video from this channel, good tastes my friend, good tastes!
I lost it at "bye-bye nitpickers." Great video as always!
Love the warning - lovely teaching. Rich in content, engaging in execution.
Great lesson! I’ve been going through a tough time recently but seeing a notification for another theory video from you today with that familiar welcoming voice and accent lifted my spirits a bit :) Thanks Tommaso!
Hope everything will get better soon for you!
Whoa! My mind is blown... That was extremely awesome. Thanks
I was most impressed that you showed how you can add a dim7 in between 2 chords that are somewhat far away from each other, instead of what I usually see which is 2 chords a whole step apart from each other in a major/minor scale. From what I gather its all about the Voice Leading though with the closest inversions or what sounds the best! Great work!
These lessons are pure gold. So clear, useful, interesting, and entertaining. Thank you!
You have blown lots of minds with your explanations especially connecting dissonant chords! Now I love Jazz music! Thank you!
This is as close to music theory wizardry anyone has ever gotten. Thank you Tommaso for sharing these incredibly useful tips. I already liked dim7 chords in general, now I know much better how to use them as well.
Best explanation for using diminished stuff ever! 🤘😎👍
I am a self-taught guitarist and used to just move my fingers around on the fretboard until things sounded interesting. It often felt (and probably was) a bit atonal, but I'd just repeat these riffs over and over. They sounded good to me, in an experimental way, and I just loved the feeling of sound vibrating in my body. This gave me an appreciation for a lot of unusual music, and this trick for using a diminished chord to move between things is great! I'm sure I will put this to use soon.
My guess was diminished 7ths, and I was right. They’re the hidden passage behind the bookcase of music theory.
i was guessing augmented chords but this is cool too
I happened to be working on some of these dim.7 /Maj.-Min. chord relationships in b arrangement of "Skylark" while I was riding the bus...JUST THIS MORNING! That is one freaky coincidence. Your video notification bell rang about 12 hrs later with the same subject.
I've began playing guitar at 12 yrs old,and began studying theory at 17. I know exactly what you're explaining and I STILL WANT TO HEAR/SEE you do these videos. My only regret: I didn't have you as a teacher when I was 15! You have so many qualities: the "warning" was very considerate...the "deal with it" about enharmonic spelling made me laugh....
I could go on but instead I'll say this: Your book will probably be the first thing I ever buy over the internet.
Much respect and gratitude from me to you.
Wow! Middle of the night here - can't sleep - stumbled on this - also LAST NIGHT couldn't sleep and lay in bed picturing a piano keyboard and was working through this myself!!! Bm7b5 --> Bdim (by flattening the A) = rootless G7b9
Looking at the circle of 4ths/5ths the diminished chords form a cross and the 'missing ' root is 2 positions to the right, so by rotating through the 3 diminished chords and adding the roots you get a V-I V-I ... all around the circle eg G7b9 ... C7b9 ... F7b9 etc --- it is truly amazing! The diminished chords are like a portal to everywhere!
Thanks Tomasso and Michael - truly inspiring!
@@RoddyHaswell Thank you! I am always humbled by an educated response...my progression was BbM7-G7b9 -Cm7-F7b9....In the role of a comping guitarist for a singer (no bass or piano player),I wanted to have a chromatic bass line between BbM7 and Cm7 so I simply subbed G7b9 with Bdim7 (root pos.) Your comments expanded nicely on this topic. Until we meet again- it was my pleasure. Thanks
I dealt with it, and glad I did! Nice job Dr. Z!
You are always a step above others on theory. Thanks for wrinkling the grey matter a bit!
This is my favorite theory channel on YT!
Thanks for this... I always knew it was a dminished chord (u can just hear it) but I never effectively used them, now I'll be able to practice better thank you.
It felt so good to think I know the answer as it came up, I was right, and of course that’s because I’m learning from Tommaso! Thank you!
You are a great teacher. I like the way you write things out. There are things that i have a somewhat decent understanding of, but your videos usually open up new ways of thinking of things for me. Thanks.
Your lessons on diminished chords have been transformative for me. Thank you so much.
great help for the harmony analysis that I study at a music school just now. Tom Jobim has used a lot of these chords in his compositions, and now I can finally make some sense of what's going on there.
I've been playing for 20 years I'm just now started to learn theory. Listening to your videos as introduced me to some concepts that I wish I understood when I started playing. Thank you very much for the effort that you put into making these videos.
Side note, I could listen to you read off the back of a dog food can and it would be interesting. I love your accent.
Hey, that's an idea. "Ingredients: meat substitute, sawdust, artificial flavour. Not for human consumption. Can cause upset stomach, light headache, or death" ;-)
@@MusicTheoryForGuitar , feed it to the nitpickers.
Thanks for sharing this. Music is a language. The beauty for me is realizing that you can make stories with music. Because it's a language you can tell and transmit emotions and talk to our imagination with music. This is the really amazing thing. Not to think there is magic somewhere. But anyway, they are different ways.
I've been following your videos for a while now, they're great. Just yesterday i was looking exactly for this kind of information and boom, here you are with what i belive is the best explanation of dim7 chords there is on youtube. So, thank you sir.
Another great Video tutorial.
Thanks again Tommaso
Your content is amazing! As a guitar teacher I understand how hard it is to communicate music theory . You are very clear and succinct.
Could you someday please discuss the theory behind the placement of the frets on a guitar, and why it is so imperfect. It seems to be an exercise in endless compromise seeking perfection throughout the entire fretboard. All of your lessons are masterfully taught.
Every time I search for something specific you are there to save the day! Thanks for the magic :) Keep up the hard work :)
I've always had a soft spot for the diminished seventh, lovely to see how it can be used so widely :)
I've been following this channel for a while, glad to see it's growing!
C and Bbm share the 5 mode of the Fm harmonic scale - a common chord progression would be C Db Bbm C. I see the dim chord more as a dom 7b9 which could slide into any 4 major/minor chords a semitone above or below. This takes care of 2 of the diminished chords.
I think now I will learn finaly the Dimineshed chords. TKS FROM BRAZIL
You’re fantastic! Love this symmetrical magical chord.
Wow! I always wondered how to use the Dim7. Home run
I’ve watched many of your lessons and this one is the best (for me anyway:). I’m always reaching for the next level of understanding in music and this adds a big leap. Will be exploring for awhile on guitar to see the possibilities. Thanks so much!
Great video, man! it's all about connecting things and you just showed the world where the glue is.
1:05 same here!!
Thanks for the lesson as always!
I have a great ear for usual chord progressions. But I hear cool deviations and I want to learn them ALL
If you like Opeth you have been bombarded with these changes, just without the diminished transition chord
Just use the diminished chord of the chord you are going to (half step below or whole step above). Like C to D uses C#dim. D to C uses D dim.
Man I love these videos, I always learn so much. I'm a classical trumpet player trying to learn how to play more jazzy stuff and this helps so much!
Your content is si The Best!! Un abrazo desde Argentina 🥳
holy shit - that's how it works... i was always noodling on piano and i always have in mind that there was some way to transfer between chords smoothly by changing only a few fingers.... holy shit! thank you man!~!1`!
Another cool lesson for the week.
Such a great video!! And also I looove how I dont have to put you at 1.5x speed like sooo many other theory videos where they have 10second spaces between their sentences!
You sir are amazing! This is pure gold. Thank you!
To be honest, I feel like a primary school student listening to a university lecture and I find it fascinating (I understand the words but...). I just started learning to play the guitar so sooner or later I will grab your course about chords. I dream about writing my own, personalised, unique chord progressions and solos.
Btw, I like your videos, your accent and personality a lot!
That was one of the best theory lessons I’ve seen. Highly nutritious.
That was awesome! Thank you kind sir!!
What a wonderful lesson! Your lessons has been enriching my play and love the music more.
You're incredible. Really, really great stuff...I've never been compelled to buy a course like I have with you. I just "get it" the way you explain theory, and that is no small feat. It makes me so excited for music and what I can do with all this information. Bravo!
Learnt a lot from your channel... Thanks
That was an excellent presentation. I got several good ideas from it and I'm eager to try them.
Your videos are always great, thank you so much!
very clear and useful, thanks!
I have always enjoyed your tutorial my friend. You are a great teacher. Thanks again. 😁👌🏼🎼🎉🥳
Always helpful, thankyou sir
I'd love it if you made a video of how scales took their names (lydian etc)
Not so much of a theory video but history of music .
A great lesson, as usual. 👍
You made my day!
More more more.
You are the best.
I am excited to learn another way to use the diminished chords in a passing function. The next thought I have is that using the appropriate dim or dim7 would be a perfect way to set up a secondary dominant (i.e. a V/V) or secondary predominant (i.e. ii/V) that will feature smoother movement - especially when tonicizing chords in distant keys, or when making distant key modulations.
love the videos man! keep it up
Great lesson!
I think the halfdim and dimMaj7 chords can be employed for very similar duties. They also often nicely go up, down and to itself. That fukn dim family is damn useful and potent
Cheers, bro ❤
Great! I am quite proud that I understand many things here! You have a new subscriber.
I might have to give you songwriting credit after all the great lessons on your channel. Μπράβο!
Mention me in the booklet and send me a copy of the album, and we'll call it even ;-) Great music BTW!
@@MusicTheoryForGuitar Bahaha done, but the lyrics will give you some trouble....
I am a pianist and I am finding this quite useful
I wish I would have gotten into this stuff earlier but I am trying to try harder
I'm a pianist and I like your lessons, I think is lesson it's about diminished passing chord, right ?
Yes, you can think of them that way too.
The answer is yes
Hey, I used to play a song that contains Bbm and C. The melody of the song and scale evolved around this type of scale : F G Ab Bb C Db E. It is a mode of the Eastern music scales like hijazz or similars. Of course the connection you present works, but they do exist in a scale together.
Unless you mean the direction from C to Bb is also vital :)
I said they are not in the same KEY :) Of course you can find a SCALE where there are both chords, but it's not the same thing.
@@MusicTheoryForGuitar hmm ok then I guess I didn't get that right. On another aspect though, if you can find these two chords in a scale, does that mean you can move between them without the use of an in-between diminished?
@@ChainWasp You can of course do whatever you want :) In this video I'm saying: "if you find that a transition is not smooth and you want it smoother, try these diminished chords". Also: for any two triads you can find a scale that contains them :)
Great video, although the functional resolution to the Fm doesn't, imo, have anything to do with the note a half step below the root (E). The E-Bb tritone will resolve to the root and 3rd of an F major chord, but it's the other tritone (G-C#) that resolves to the 3rd and 5th of the Fm chord. Luckily in a dim7 you have both, which is why they resolve equally well to both major and minor triads.
I bless u friend. THANX, really, thanx.
Great video, thank you. Always so interesting!
You're a beast! Thanks
wow magic
Very good!
The dim7 trick is truly the Swiss knife of harmony. Probably another such universal device is the cube dance. Do you have a video about that too?
Magic
Awesome!
I am so not ready for this yet.
The sense of resolution he talks about has the same substance of the Tritone substitution resolution
Great video as always Tommaso, but I have to nit-pick @9:30: C and Bbm are in key when playing in Phrygian Dominant ;-)
When he says key I guess he means one of the standard major, minor keys....not all scales.
Yes. A Key is one thing, a Scale is another :) You can always find a scale to contain any two chords.
@@MusicTheoryForGuitar What scale contains chromatic mediants? ie F > A or Am > F#m asking for a friend......
Am and F#m are both in the HW diminished scale (A Bb C C# D# E F#G), but they are also in the C# harmonic minor scale (C# D# E F# G# A B##), if you're ok with B## = C. As for F and A, you can use F harmonic major: F G A Bb C Db E, if you are ok with Db = C# for the A chord.
@@MusicTheoryForGuitar Shouldn't that be B#...B# = C? B## would be C#.
Information- A+
Accent- A+
Thank you for this video. Can people that are learning the piano still benefit from that chord course?
Yes, depending on what you want to learn. I have several pianists on the course, but before starting it write me at tommaso@musictheoryforguitar.com so we can see if this course is a good match to you.
Thank you Tommaso, great video!
As a fellow ESL speaker myself, I would like to borrow your "zmooth"... :-)
HAHA, please do :)
I guessed it!
Ditto what else could it have been but the chord that is key agnostic and of which there are only three?
@@AlDunbar Yes. It came to me straight away and I surprised myself. But when you put it like that it I suppose it was obvious.
Well, everything is obvious afterwards :)
I'm not really a jazz man but the last I liked more... Maybe I'm more used to it from some source... 🤷🏻♂️