Creating suspense in music can be achieved in a number of different ways, but for instant suspense gratification, there's nothing quite like a diminished chord.
It's a fairly safe bet to suggest that you know the track ‘Thriller’ by Michael Jackson. You know the introduction, just before the enormous chords that introduce the opening to the song?
That last chord in the build-up; that’s diminished! If that isn't the biggest confirmation of a chord’s horror-like and suspenseful intention, we don't know what is!
Triads are pretty much a bedrock of songwriting and composition, so let's look at how we make a triad diminished.
Firstly, we need to start with a minor triad - it’s not a major triad ‘thing’ - so we are going to work with our favoured triad of C minor, using the notes C, Eb and G.
All we need to do to create a diminished triad is drop the G by a semitone, to a Gb (aka F#).
The effect that this very basic operation has on the sound of your triad is instant. You may notice that alternating between a C minor and C diminished triad, has a familiar ring to it too.
It’s been a common device in pop, jazz, and particularly classical and soundtrack scores for years, which explains its audible familiarity.
3rds and 7ths
The curious thing about the diminished triad, is that it is entirely made up of intervals described as minor 3rds. As you may already know, it is the 3rd of the triad that indicates its major or minor status, so the interval between the notes C and Eb is described as a minor 3rd.
The eagle-eyed may also notice that the distance between Eb and Gb, is also a minor 3rd. There’s nothing to stop us continuing up the chord, in a similar vein, adding more minor 3rds as we go.
If we add the note A to our chord, we engineer an extension to our triad, which creates what we describe as a diminished 7th.
You will also see that if you add a further minor 3rd, above the note A, we are back at our starting note of C.
It's a very unique arrangement, compiling notes of the same interval, before landing back on the same note we started on.
Diminished usefulness
Going ‘full-dim’ with a chord is all very well, but where might we seek to use these chords effectively?
Try using a diminished chord at the end of a verse or chorus structure, as an alternative to a dominant chord (aka chord V). It’ll certainly add some suspense.
A very famous song which utilises this chord at the end of every song line, would be Michelle a little known beat-combo known as The Beatles. That slightly unnerving chord, just before we launch back into the lyric ‘Michelle, ma belle…’ that’s diminished!
But don’t forget, if you are working in the soundtrack domain and want a shock chord, a diminished 7th is great place to go. You can use them fairly liberally, and they will sound great!
Diminished chords unite Lennon and McCartney, Michael Jackson and even the classic work ‘Mars’ by Gustav Holst! Who knew they were so useful!
