However, half-diminished chords have a minor 7th interval, and a fully-diminished chord contains a diminished 7th interval (enharmonically equivalent to a major 6th). Half-diminished chords and fully diminished chords both contain a diminished triad. Remember that the type of 7th you add determines whether or not the seventh chord is half-diminished or fully diminished. However, to make this diminished triad a half-diminished seventh chord, we’ll need to add a 7th. A diminished triad has a root, a minor 3rd interval, and a flat 5th interval. Diminished TriadĪs the name suggests, we’ll need a diminished triad to build a half-diminished chord. Let’s check out the diminished triad first. Three of those notes make a diminished triad the fourth is a minor 7th interval above the root. So, to build our half-diminished chord, we’ll need four notes total. Half-diminished chords are seventh chords, which means they are made up of four notes-a triad (consisting of a root, a 3rd, and a 5th) plus a 7th. Accelerate Your Jazz Guitar Chops By Joining The Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circleįirst, let’s define what a half-diminished chord is.What Scales Work Best Over a Half-Diminished Chord?.Where Do You Find Half-Diminished Chords in Jazz?.Mastering Half-Diminished Chords On The Guitar.Ready to overhaul your jazz guitar playing? See what the Inner Circle is all about. Plus, our Jazz Guitar Accelerator Course is designed specifically for guitarists who want to get better at all aspects of jazz as applied to the guitar. Luckily, the Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle offers a structured and time-tested process for systematically learning how to play jazz. Many people put off learning jazz guitar because they don’t have a process or know where to begin. If you are interested in jazz guitar but feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, you aren’t alone. By the end of this post, you’ll be ready to tackle any jazz chord progression with a half-diminished seventh chord ( hint: there are many of them). In this post, we will dive into the half-diminished seventh chord, explaining how they are built, what they are used for, and how you can play them all over the guitar fretboard. This minor chord is widely used in jazz music and is an important chord in diatonic harmony. If you are new to jazz guitar, one chord you’ll want to learn ASAP is the half-diminished chord (also known to jazz musicians as the -7b5 chord).

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