Time to Get The "D" in Diminished

Many musicians as about the elusive diminished chords. To be honest there is no secret.

Dimished Chord Formula:

Root Note----Flatted 3rd-----Flatted 5

The most amazing thing about diminished chords is that they add the dissonance in your playing and that's what the "D" stands for.

Let's look at at the C diminshed chord


Piano Tip # 1

• You can move to any note in the chord that is a half step above. 

For example: Play the C diminished chord and go to E. The reason behind this is because its a passing chord. The Eb leads to the E if you look at the chord closely.

One of the building blocks of diminished chords is the fact that they have a tritone inside of them. If you dissect the chord you will see that there are two tritones that exist.

Tritone # 1: C and Gb




Tritone # 2: Eb and A



I will explain further along in another post about tritones. However, back to diminished chords

Piano Tip # 2

• Diminished chords can be used as a passing tone to get to the next closest note.

For example: If I am in the Key of C and I want to get to D which is the 2 chord. How would I get there?

Chord #1: C major chord (C, E, G)



Chord # 2 C diminished chord (C, Eb, Gb, A)



Chord # 3 D minor chord (A, D, F)



This is just a sample of what diminished chords can do. When you practice the positions and the fingering you can do wonders effectively.

All the best,

-Jamie

What Makes A Professional Musicians Different Than An Average Musician?

This is probably the number 1 question that makes musicians go wild. What is the difference between a professional musician and an average musician. The answer will surprise YOU.


Here are three things that separate professional musicians from an average musician.

Attribute # 1: Its not the amount of time youve been doing it.

People always say that its because I got 30 plus years of being a musician thats what makes me a professional. Even someone who is just out of the gate learning will aspire to become great. You will learn through your experiences of what it takes to become a professional.

Attribute # 2: There is an ART and SCIENCE to become a MASTER

Martial Arts Masters spend years learning the ART and TECHNIQUE to perfect they skill. It's the passion and drive that will get them far. You may not get PAID for your work but it's the feeling inside that will bring you true success. In the music world, there are many musicians who take unpaid gigs but it's the passion and drive that keeps them going. People will recognize that you are a leader in your field of excellence. When that becomes the norm then great things will happen. People will become attracted to your success and those who are willing to invest in you will see the great potential for more. You will reach that level of MASTERY when you doing something more than just once and then become PAID.


Atttribute # 3: Think BIG to Acquire SUCCESS

The one thinking that stops many musicians no matter what skill level they are at is the ability to think BIG. Many musicians are hurting because some won't share there chords with you or that you are being put down by fellow musicians. You got to rise above those challenges to acquire success. Many of those professional musicians were at the same stage you were at and they rose above it and the people that didn't think that they were going to be successful came back. Their mindset changed and have become attracted to their success. It starts with yourself. If you can change the way that you think and not focus on the actions you will become a success.

Think Bigger Chords and Riffs
Think Bigger Dreams
Think A Bigger and Better Life for Your Music!

I hope that this inspires someone for success.