Chord voicings - Grade 5

Voicing Types

Okay, so now we move on to the voicing types.

C Diminished Seven Chord

This one's called a C diminished seven chord. It doesn't actually have the seven in it, it's just a regular diminished shape played in different ways.

C Minor 7 Flat 5

The second one is a C minor 7 flat 5, also known as a half diminished. So, this one is the regular diminished shape with the seventh, and instead of the double flat or the six.

• C Diminished Seven: Regular diminished shape without the seven.
• C Minor 7 Flat 5: Regular diminished shape with the seventh.

So there you have it. That is Grade Five.

Summary of Topics Covered

• We've covered:
  • Scales
  • Arpeggios
  • Chord Voicings (Diminished and Half Diminished)

We've also taken a look at the Locrian. This is about the kind of upper end of the harmony that we're dealing with. Everything else is kind of fleshing out the bits in between.

Complexity

So, diminishes and Locrians, they're about as complex as it gets. If you're finding this a bit of a hard thing to work through, don't worry.

Helpful Shortcuts

Remember, there are a few shortcuts:

• Your Locrian scale is basically the major scale a semitone above all.

These little shortcuts are really useful for helping you get this stuff under your fingers.

Practice Recommendations

If you can, and you have the time, take it through all 12 keys. You'll find you really can benefit from working through these in every exercise.

When you come to play with your band or write music on your own, you'll find that you're so much freer to express yourself the way you want to.

See you next time!