So, I wrote this pastoral piece and it sounds good to me. One thing I am curious about though is why the first diminished 7th here builds up tension and more specifically why the restatement of C minor the first time does not feel like a resolution. I know why the F minor sounds dissonant here(or at least more dissonant than it would have if I put an F there instead of an Ab). It is because I am doubling the chordal third in the melody and the chordal third is minor. Here is the section I am talking about so that you can see the harmonic and melodic framework off of which I built the C minor section of my pastoral piece:
X:
T: Country Day
T: C minor Section
C: Cheyanna Marie Ward
M: 4/4
L: 1/4
Q: 1/4=140
%%score (pian) (pian2)
K: C minor
V:pian name="Piano Right Hand" clef=treble
V:pian2 name="Piano Left Hand" clef=bass
%
%
[V:pian] G1 E1/2C1/2 C1 D1/4E1/4F1/4G1/4 | A1 z1 G1 E1/2C1/2 | C1 D1/4E1/4F1/4G1/4 F1 z1 | G1 E1/2C1/2 C1 D1/4E1/4F1/4G1/4 | A1 z1 G1 E1/2C1/2 | C1 D1/4E1/4F1/4G1/4 =B2 | [C4E4G4c4] ||
s: !ff!
[V:pian2] [C,,1E,,1G,,1C,1] [E,,1G,,1C,1E,1] [C,1E,1G,1C1] D,,1/4D,,1/4D,,1/4E,,1/4 |[F,,1A,,1C,1F,1] z1 [C,,1E,,1G,,1C,1] [E,,1G,,1C,1E,1] |[C,1E,1G,1C1] D,,1/4D,,1/4D,,1/4E,,1/4 [D,,1F,,1A,,1=B,,1] z1 | [C,,1E,,1G,,1C,1] [E,,1G,,1C,1E,1] [C,1E,1G,1C1] D,,1/4D,,1/4D,,1/4E,,1/4 |[F,,1A,,1C,1F,1] z1 [C,,1E,,1G,,1C,1] [E,,1G,,1C,1E,1] |[C,1E,1G,1C1] D,,1/4D,,1/4D,,1/4E,,1/4 [D,,2F,,2A,,2=B,,2] | [C,,4E,,4G,,4C,4] ||
So why does the first diminished 7th not really resolve despite me restating C minor(which as a D dim7, it would normally resolve to)? Does it have to do with the rest before the C minor is restated? And yes, that is an enharmonic respelling of D dim7 to fit better with the key of C minor.