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How can you use a progression (like the one below) and have it fit in C major well and support the melody?

Do these diminished chords fit in a diatonic scale well, even though they're chromatic?

Cmaj7 > Dbm7 > Ebdim7 > Em7 > Dbdim7 > Dm7 > Bdim7 > CMaj7 > G7 > Abdim7 > Am7
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  • Please try to narrow the scope of the question a bit. Maybe just how one would analyse part of this progression would be enough. – Meaningful Username Mar 2 '15 at 19:41
  • i just did, can you help me out? please – Izu Izzy Mar 2 '15 at 19:45
  • What are you trying to achieve? How did you come up with the progression above? – Meaningful Username Mar 2 '15 at 19:53
  • thank you for even responding to me, well i know how to come up with a diminished 7th chord progression. but i was just confused like; does diminished chords fit in to a diantonic scale? are you restricted to only one scale when your doing a melody over them ... say the chord is Ebdim7 , Dbdim7 , Abdim7 and your in C major what scale would one play over those chords in C major? – Izu Izzy Mar 2 '15 at 20:03
  • If you're using any diminished chord besides Bdim or B<sup>ø</sup>7 then they are not built from the C major scale as they use notes outside of the key. However, that does not mean that they wouldn't fit into a progression in the key of C major. – Dom♦ Mar 2 '15 at 20:45
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You wrote:

Do these diminished chords fit in a diatonic scale well, even though they're chromatic?

This is not a yes/no question, but rather, the answer is "It depends". If you want your melody to remain purely diatonic, you would probably want to focus on notes that are in the key of C, and that also are members of the chord at hand.

For instance, in CM7, you have all four notes that would work: C E G B. Then in Dbm7, only Cb would fit (it is the same frequency as B; Db Fb Ab do not reside in the C scale).

You could continue to use this method to build a melody that is strictly in C, and in fact, all your chords have at least one note that is in C. Although you could try some notes outside of C as well, if you're interested in experimenting.

Now, whether they fit "well" is a more complicated question. You'll need to go one chord-melody combination at a time, and possibly need to go back and rewrite until you have a satisfying melody. There is a lot of study necessary to work out such a complicated chord progression.

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  • i just gave you one ill give you as many as you want, please help. youtube.com/watch?v=2xwny96CSLs how can you use this progression he gave in a song? what scale would this be in ? C ? what melody would you use over this – Izu Izzy Mar 2 '15 at 21:01
  • For a progressive rock direction, you really want to decide what kind of sound you want. You can go in so many directions, and use many different tones on your instruments. – Mark Mar 2 '15 at 21:20
  • Regarding the melody in the video, it is not all in C. Keep in mind that as chords change, so do the scales. This is a very big question, and I think it is best for you to continue with theory tutorials and gather more and more knowledge about music theory. The video you are watching has some good advice, but if it is too complicated at first, take a step back and read up on chord theory. – Mark Mar 2 '15 at 21:21
  • in the last 3 minutes of the video what keys did he modulate to and what keys did he start and end with ? and how did he do it and what keys where used and where they all diantonic keys? like C or chromatic? – Izu Izzy Mar 2 '15 at 21:24
  • He did not modulate, but rather, just used diminished chords to lead to chords that fit in C. Those chords are the Em7, Dm7, G7, and Am7, all which are in C. Those chords are like "landing spots". They are more stable than the diminished ones. – Mark Mar 2 '15 at 21:40

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