Minor Flat Fifth (Diminished) Chords

1. The VII Chord

Well, apart from the major/minor chords, there is one chord that should be introduced as soon as possible. It is a chord that does not require any ♯/♭ accidentals. That is to say…

The VII chord of a major key!! You met the chord on the article “Prime Chords (1)“, but it was excluded and the rest six chords are termed the “prime chords”. Do you remember why this one was omitted? —It was because of its peculiar chord structure.

It’s similar to minor chords but slightly different. OK, let’s discuss this using “full-interval names” just studied in the previous session.
The 5^th of prime chords are all 7 semitone away, which is called a perfect 5th, while the VII chord has its 5^th a bit narrower, 6 semitones away, which is called a diminished 5th.

The interval of 6 semitones is also called a tritone and known for its strong dissonance, as explained in the article “Secondary Dominants.

Restless mood produced by the chord of Ti-Re-Fa

A little eerie as a chord, we skipped it in Chapters I-II, but now it’s time to use it as a good spice!

Chord Name of the VII Chord

The VII chord is, in a broad sense, a type of minor chord. This is because the sound defining the chord’s bright/dark quality, the 3^rd, is a minor 3rd. On the other hand, the 5^th is positioned lower than usual. Hence, this chord is known as a Minor Flat Fifth chord and is symbolized by “m^(♭5)” or “m^(-5)“.

Most chord names are based on how they differ from the fundamental major/minor chords. So by interpreting the meaning of the symbols, you can roughly deduce the constituent tones.
Or, it is also called a Diminished Chord as it contains a “diminished 5th” interval.

Usage of the VII Chord

The progression where this chord comes alive is limited and fundamentally progresses to either III_m or III.

VII_m^(-5)IIIVI_m

Especially, this 7-3-6 progression is the fixture for how you utilize VII_m^(-5) chord. When written in music sheet, it looks like the image below.

Focusing on the root movement, the progression involves successive 5_▼ nexuses, making it pleasant to the ear. The development of musical tension/release is perfect here — It starts with the dissonant flat 5th chord, then leads to the emotional III, finally landing smoothly into VI_m. This progression has a fairly emotionally stirring feel, so it’s commonly used in ballads in pop music.

The Diatonic Chords

So far we’ve seen the “six prime chords” as the basis of songwriting, which is true to today’s pop music, but in genres like classical music, jazz and any genres influend by them, the VIIm^(-5) chord is also viewed as one of the fundamental chords, and the six+one chords are called Diatonic Chords.

The VIIm^(-5) chord holds an intriguing position. It’s not fundamental in the sense that it’s unstable and limited in its progression options, but it can also be considered fundamental as it doesn’t require any accidentals.

From now on, on this site, similar to many theoretical books, I would like to actively use the term “diatonic chords” when referring to basic sets of chords. However, please remember that the fact remains that the VII chord is an exceptional one and what is truly “primal” for songwriting is still the “six prime chords”.

2. Minor Seventh Flat Fifth Chord

This is a general law for minor flat 5th chords; the tonal instability is quite pronounced when in triad form, making it just a bit difficult to use. Therefore, it’s common to reinforce the body by adding 7^th. The process is the same as with the other six prime chords, simply add another note by skip, following the scale.

Regarding the chord name, it’s now similar to minor seventh chord but with its 5^th flattened, hence the Minor Seventh Flat Fifth chord. Let’s compare this one with the triad!

The sound has become richer and the relationship between re and la is a firm “perfect 5th,” making the structure more rigid and increasing the power of the chord. The VIIm7^(♭5) chord is the last seventh chord that can be created without accidentals besides the familiar Major Seventh, Minor Seventh, and Dominant Seventh.

While major and minor chords have their charm with simple triads, in the case of the minor flat 5th chord, the seventh chord is significantly superior. Triads tend to produce a rather weak sound, so in pop music, it’s better to go with a seventh chord in most cases.

3. Minor ii-V-i

As seen above, the VII_m^(-5)IIIVI_m progression is the typical usage of the VII chord. It has been used continuously since the era of classical music.

Use in Classical Music

In classical music, the 7-3-6 progression is the authentic cadence in minor key. So there are numerous examples using this progression.

Mozart’s Requiem is a typical example. Vocal singing starts from 0:18- and the chord progression is VI_mVI_m/IVII_m7^(-5)III₇VI_m. This emotionally intensive progression is the best fit for a requiem!

Use in Jazz

In jazz, VII_m7^(-5) is a key to form a long chain of succesive 5_▼ progression.

“Autumn Leaves” is one of the most famous jazz standard tune. Its progression at the beginning is; II_m7V₇I_Δ7IV_Δ7VII_m7^(-5)III₇VI_m.
The motion from a IV chord to a VII chord involves the root motion from fa to ti, which is a kind of 5_▼ nexus, even though it’s a “diminished 5th” interval. So the progression is entirely composed of 5_▼!

Use in Popular Music

In this way, due to its history of being favored in elegant sound genres, it is often used in popular music when one wants to introduce this sophisticated ambiance.

The chord progression starts with VI_m and at the end of the loop, when she sings “drive me crazy”, the progression VII_m7^(-5)III₇ appears.

“Big Poppa” by The Notorious B.I.G is another example. It loops the progression starting with IV_Δ7III₇VI_m7 twice. But in the third and the fourth loop it’s changed to VII_m7^(-5)III₇VI_m7.

You already know that 4-3-6 can be substituted with 2-3-6, and now 7-3-6 is another candidate!

“Turtle” by TWICE is clearly echoes the style of jazz, including chords as well as sound and rhythm. The chorus part starts with the typical jazzy 2-5-1 progression, then gets into 7-3-6.

The 2-5-1 and 7-3-6 progressions are related in a mirror-like manner. The former forms two consecutive 5_▼ to the major tonic chord I, while the latter, in contrast, involves consecutive 5_▼ to the minor tonic chord VI_m.

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Therefore, using these two progressions consecutively is an effective technique in creating contrast in music. You can see 7-3-6 progression as “the minor version of 2-5-1”.

7-3-6 a.k.a. 2-5-1

Do you remember that in traditional music theory, Am in A minor key is labeled as “Im”, not “VIm”?

This came from the idea that “the key’s leader should be assigned the number 1”, though LMT does not adopt this method and instead opts for the “Six-based minor” system.

Under this numbering system, What is called “7-3-6” here is labeled literally as “2-5-1”.

Therefore, the progression is really called a Minor ii-V-i, especially in jazz domain. Though we will stick to the six-based minor notation, it is worth remembering the nickname at the same time.

4. See VII7 Again

In Chapter II, I introduced secondary dominants, the chords that become the “partners” of prime chords.

III_m→VI_m is turned into III₇→VI_m. I→IV is turned into I₇→IV. Similarly, the VII_m^(♭5) can be substituted with VII₇, provided that it progresses to III_m or III.

VI_mII_mVII_m^(-5)IIIVI_m

Firstly, for comparison, this is a progression using a normal VII_m^(♭5) chord. If we replace this with VII₇…

VI_mII_mVII₇IIIVI_m

This creates a very elegant atmosphere! While it’s not so commonly used in pop music, it is convenient when you want to evoke a classical taste. Personally, I have an image of this chord evoking a noble yet scary vibe like “Dracula’s residence.”

The middle part of the “Paranoid Android” has an ambiguous tonality starting with the chord C_m, but the part “from the great height, from the great height” seems the 4-3-2-1 progression in F major key. Then, it progresses to VIIIII.

One of the factors contributing to the majestic mood of this section would be this classical chord progression.

Other than VII

So far we’ve looked exclusively at cases where VII is the root. In other cases, a minor flat 5th are commonly used rooted on II, III and ♯IV.

However, as they are slightly more advanced compared to VII, their introduction will be reserved for the latter part of this chapter.

Major Flat 5th?

Of course, not only with minor chords but also with major chords, you can apply the flat 5th alteration. But, as its usage is somewhat more limited, the introduction of them is also omitted at this current stage.

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Learning the VII chord brought together the members of “diatonic chords,” equipping a repertoire of chord progressions with more intricate sounds.In Chapter III, we’ll continue expanding the choices of chords other than major and minor chords!

Summary

• Lowering the 5^th of a minor chord by a semitone yields a “minor flat 5th” chord.
• Characterized by having a tritone, it produces a highly unstable sound.
• To compensate for its weak sound, 7^th is frequently added, resulting in the “minor seventh flat 5th” chord.
• Just stacking notes in the 3rd interval from VII of a major scale makes a minor flat 5th chord.

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