Further Chords

Diminished Chords

A diminished triad is a minor triad with a flattened 5^th. It sounds like this:

While it’s not the easiest chord to base a track on, the diminished triad is a powerful chord for transitioning between others, as the tone of the chord creates unease and tension. This tension is largely due to the ‘tritone’ interval between the root note, C, and the flattened 5^th, Gb, highlighted above in red. The opening chord progression of Justice’s ‘Let There Be Light’ is a perfect example:

The piano roll below shows the chord progression, which is in the key of D flat minor – Db minor / C dim / Bb min7 b5 (or ‘half-diminished’ – a diminished triad with a minor 7th) / Ab major:

We can hear how the diminished chords create a strong sense of tension and anticipation, pulling the progression along and giving it a sense of inescapable momentum:

Long-time Attack readers might also remember that we covered the use of diminished chords in our Breakdown feature on Gesaffelstein’s ‘Viol’ last year.

Applying these chords to dance music production

So how should these slightly more complex chords be used in the context of dance music composition? Is it really necessary to learn every type of interval and aim to throw as many obscure chords into a track as possible? Of course not. Over-thinking the theory before you make a track rarely works well unless you’re specifically aiming for something wilfully complex.

Instead, the lesson should be to feel free to experiment beyond the obvious confines. If a track feels like it needs a slightly more complex harmonic structure, don’t be scared to refer to an online chord chart or calculator for something a little more unusual. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to break out of the habit of sticking to major and minor triads like so many of us tend to. A greater understanding of chords and their construction is an invaluable tool for anyone writing music in any genre.