Module 14 mini-test

1. What notes are in B°?

2. What notes are in Bø7?

3. What notes are in B°7?

4. What is the formula for a diminished triad?

5. Why is a fully diminished seventh chord symmetrical?

6. How many semitones separate adjacent notes of a °7 chord?

7. What diminished chord can lead directly to C?

8. What passing diminished chord can connect C to Dm?

9. What chord do you get if LH plays G under B°7?

10. Why can one diminished seventh shape resolve toward several different tonics?

Answers

1. B-D-F
2. B-D-F-A
3. B-D-F-A♭
4. 1-♭3-♭5
5. It consists entirely of stacked minor thirds and divides the octave into four equal parts.
6. 3 semitones
7. B° or B°7
8. C♯°7
9. G7♭9
10. Any of its four chord tones can be interpreted as a leading tone one semitone below a different destination.

The key lesson is:

Diminished harmony is less about a strange chord shape and more about semitone motion.

When you see C♯°7, don't think “What bizarre collection of notes is this?” Think:

Something is probably moving from C toward D.

That mindset makes diminished chords far easier to use musically.

Module 15 will move into chromatic harmony and borrowed chords: borrowing iv from the parallel minor, why F → Fm → C sounds so emotionally powerful, modal interchange, chromatic mediants, and how to make a simple major-key progression sound dramatically richer without losing the listener.