The Easiest Way to Use Diminished and Augmented Chords in an "in-key" Progression

➢ The Official Zombie Guitar Website: www.zombieguitar.com/
➢ My 3 FREE Courses: www.zombieguitar.com/free
➢ Zombie Guitar Facebook Group: / zombieguitarmembers
********
Timestamps:
0:00 - Lesson Intro
0:53 - Replacing the "iii chord"
5:58 - Quick Example
6:40 - The "Tension Note"
9:51 - Understanding Symmetry with Diminished Chords
12:19 - Understanding Symmetry with Augmented Chords
********

[@zombieguitar]

If you like these lessons, definitely check out www.zombieguitar.com/ It is a one-of-a-kind site dedicated to helping guitarists to understand the fretboard and create their own music. You will love it!!

[@TheJabernet]

This is Gold! Why do other teachers make it a point to make it so confusing? Maybe they are confused. You're awesome brother,Thank you!

[@MrEvanBacon]

This is my 2nd video of yours I have watched. I’m already impressed at how EXCELLENT you are at explaining theory.

[@zombieguitar]

Thanks Evan, I appreciate the words 😎

[@aglees2b]

Couldn't agree more with you. Relative hidden gem of a channel. Nice work!

[@Steelyman96]

This is a brilliant lesson, I now understand diminished chords after years of confusion. Thanks Brian

[@disciple678]

you are a true fighter and a true musician and a teacher. Hail! to thee.

[@zinger7863]

Unbelievably helpful! Extremely well organized and concise. The really excellent lesson I spent the whole afternoon watching it over and over again and crew going out what year were saying thank you very much!

[@dbo0109]

Good lesson as usual. Your use of graphics and animated graphics is very helpful and appreciated. Thank you!

[@bartonone2005]

Thumbs up for your video with its clear, concise explanation. Thank you Brian!!

[@jammingridena]

Great lesson.. Precise, on point.. no drama.. no nonsense intro💯💯💯

[@PictureMaker22]

I always get so much out of your lessons, I cannot thank you enough. Thank you again and again. 🙏🏼👍🏼

[@KeefsCattys]

Excellent lesson, much appreciated.

[@greenatom]

Your explanations are so clear. Thank you!

[@toto6773]

Awesome lesson!

[@godfreytan1001]

Super cool lesson.

[@Rb-ys6xb]

Brian ive been learning from tons of utube vids and know about pentatonic but from there ive been stuck in plateau state. Dude thanks for your free courses. I might end up becoming full member when i need it.🤘

[@zombieguitar]

Awesome glad to help, thanks for following along with my lessons!

[@ggus8512]

Thanks much! There are many great theory vids on KZbin, but yours is super helpful! And enjoyable!

[@Higgsinophysics]

Thanks for this clear video !

[@boytimtiman9872]

Wow, this puts things in focus. Thanks a lot.

[@52Tele]

Thanks for such a wonderful lesson

[@davideskelin8266]

Your full course is really good. I a section, play with it for awhile and then can come back for more. I like that set up, no hurry and can always come back for more and new stuff for free.

[@zombieguitar]

Hey thanks Dave, glad to hear that you like the site. I love continuing to build it!

[@Fezzler61]

C+ sounds more dissonant than tense - agree. Great lesson. Dude - no one explained how to use theory this well that I could find. A++

[@christianzelaya6361]

What an amazing video. Thank you.

[@kellywendlandt3940]

That does make sense. Thanks for the follow up.

[@markjairuscoreaje2534]

This clears everything for me thank you ver much so on point

[@chrisbrodbeck1961]

I like that song, you nailed it!

[@rexringschott]

Thanks, really well explained.

[@shuklajayant]

Extraordinary ❤❤❤. Thank you very very much 🙏

[@SearchfortheMeaning]

Awesome thanks 🏅💯

[@sunilrautela1873]

He is kind of cool...and so clear in his approach...thanks a bunch....loved it

[@paulhaines7551]

Very good explanations 👍

[@monkigunmkiiflash3110]

Great Lesson. Thanks I have made a breakthrough The Dim/Aug wall.

[@NewPowerArt]

My dear friend, you are very talent, also you have solid skill on music theory. Beautiful. Like 494

[@Zaflon]

This guy blows my mind every single time!

[@zombieguitar]

That's my goal 🤘

[@donngoodside6885]

Brian _______ Ultra Cool Lesson / Thanks !

[@thoth_amon]

you can add lots of crazy mess to the 5 chord to make it resolve, probably why jazz uses so many 2-5-1 progressions and changes keys, just so they can use all of them expensive crazy chords, it actually does matter in explaining if it is c major or a minor though, when seeing the function of the chords, this was in a minor, so all the changes was done on the 5 chord, if it was in c major, it would have been the 5 of c that got the changes in order to resolve to c instead of a

[@robertquinn9490]

Brian...Thanks. I use all dim chords...never knew the aug positions..big help!

[@ALEJANDROARANDARICKERT]

very very good

[@layneaic2076]

Thanks broo..

[@kabuifaschoolproject9431]

Bro you are awesome 👍.

[@zombieguitar]

Thank you for the kind words, and thank you for watching!! 😀

[@Excellentness]

See there you go again giveing another great lession that I understand. Chairs

[@TeeDOG6]

Machine Elves. Love it!

[@zombieguitar]

Thanks for checking it out! 😁

[@SketchEtcher]

Brilliant! Maybe it should be titled “How to build Harmonic Minor Chord Progressions”. I knew about changing the iii to III, but didn’t know I could use the viid chord or the augmented I chord for the same Function. I’m at the point in music theory where I scare myself for understanding so much, but I’m way behind on physical guitar playing technique. Hopefully getting the Spark practice amp will allow me to put all this theory to good use...

[@eliortega1745]

The C dim to me felt like a good note for the sound for the story's character to continue feeling worried about the problem. Just saying. Great job Mr. kelly!

[@andyglamrock]

Fantastic lesson Brian! Is changing the iii to a III modal interchange?

[@zombieguitar]

If I were to assign a "label" to this chord, I would likely just refer to it as a "borrowed chord". Although modal interchange also uses borrowed chords as well. However, I feel much better in assigning the fancy "modal interchange" label when one of the characteristic chords is borrowed (eg. Borrowing the major IV in a minor key is from Dorian. Borrowing the major II in a major key is from Lydian. Borrowing the major bVII in a major key is from Mixolydian, and borrowing a major bII in a minor key is from Phrygian). At the end of the day it's all just "in key" vs "out-of-key". That's the simplest way to think about it, IMO. Make sense?

[@johnmullins8995]

Super cool. Explains how the music from town in diablo sounds like it does.

[@michaelcraig9449]

No, diablo sucks..

[@SickoMicko666]

Hey Brian, loving the videos mate. Just got a question.. with the whole introducing diminished and augmented chords in the progression, does it have to be strictly the 3rd chord of that key that is changed or can you make any of the chords diminished and augmented in whatever key you are playing?.. Also can you do a full chord progression with diminished/augmented/any chord construction?. Cheers.

[@zombieguitar]

Hey thanks for the reply. There are definitely other times you can use these types of chords. For instance, when harmonizing with the harmonic minor scale, you will find a lot of diminished and augmented chords coming up. Check out this lesson here for that: www.zombieguitar.com/harmonic-scale-deep-dive-series-part-1-the-chords/ You can also use diminished chords as "in-between" fillers moving from one chord to the next. This lesson here explains how to do that: www.zombieguitar.com/how-to-use-diminished-chords-in-a-song-or-chord-progression/ I always have a ton fun to play diminished arpeggios too. Here is a lesson about those: www.zombieguitar.com/what-are-diminished-arpeggios-and-4-ways-to-use-them/ Those should definitely help to answer some questions for ya!

[@nicolasdisanzo4435]

i love you

[@michaelbaudin]

Can you explain voice leading with augmented chords on guitar?

[@malcolmwindust3888]

Great explanation as usual Brian and I thought that your acoustic guitar sounded wonderful! What make is it?

[@zombieguitar]

Hey thanks for the comment. It is a Taylor 214 CE Deluxe...I LOVE IT!!

[@malcolmwindust3888]

Brian Kelly That explains it! The Rolls-Royce of acoustic guitars! Terrific sound… 👍

[@lord_zoog]

Hey cool video. Quick question: if you were going to look at this progression from the perspective of Am, wouldn't you then be instead applying the substitutions to the V chord (Em) instead of the 3? Just wanted to make sure i understood this correctly.

[@zombieguitar]

Yup, I talk about the different ways to number chords here 😎: www.zombieguitar.com/how-to-number-chord-progressions-the-nashville-system-vs-the-roman-numeral-numbering-system/

[@jeffjuhre1494]

Hi Brian, great lesson! There is on nit pick though. At 4:20 you show a Bdim chord. That is actually a Bdim7 chord, not a just a Bdim triad, it has an Ab on the 3rd string. And yes there are only 3 possible fully dim7 chords (excluding inversions) but there are 12 possible dim chords.

[@zombieguitar]

I hear ya. There are a few ways that you might see a chord symbol for a fully diminished chord - Bdim7, Bdim or B°. Just as long as the video communicates the bigger picture, that is what is most important 😎

[@debraymusic-justus1620]

Great video....learned a lot. You might want to mention you are using inside chords for dim. and aug. and not to play certain strings. It's what I call aim and shoot. ( Aim for the string you want to play. And shoot for it....)

[@zombieguitar]

I do the same exact thing 😁

[@h0tsex0r]

It is telling that the E7 resolves so well to Cmajor

[@robertchurch5537]

Thanks Brian. BTW is the pick up in your Taylor Expression 1 or 2?

[@zombieguitar]

Hmm I'm not sure about that. It's a Taylor 214CE deluxe...whatever comes stock with that is the pickup that it has 😎

[@chet2020]

great. can u apply concept to the solo in zeppelin-fool in the rain"?

[@zombieguitar]

Great song, great solo...I'll do a lesson on it soon 😎

[@Natalie_Blazyn]

Hey I like your videos! Can I suggest you put a small light behind you to take away the shadow behind you, it will give a more professional look to your awesome knowledge on the guitar 🎶👍😊

[@zombieguitar]

Hey thanks for the suggestion. I'm hopefully going to be moving soon to a place where I have move room. I was waiting for that happen, then I was going to do it up right (sound and lighting!)

[@Natalie_Blazyn]

Brian Kelly oh cool, sounds like a great plan. Also, I like the way you have the diagram with the circle of fifths, it makes so much sense to me now...I’m a visual person 😊🎶

[@donngoodside6885]

Brian _____ It would be helpful ( to me ), if there was a book, or PDF file, that showed all 12 Key Chord Shapes in their drop 2, drop 3 shapes, in all positions... does that exist?

[@zombieguitar]

I'm sure there is something out there, but I haven't heard of it. Maybe I can make one 😎

[@kane6529]

How do you use the circle of fifths with the minor scale.like for instance in Aminor and using the number system would the A minor the 1 or the 6 Chord?

[@zombieguitar]

Check this out...this explains all that 😎 www.zombieguitar.com/how-to-number-chord-progressions-the-nashville-system-vs-the-roman-numeral-numbering-system/

[@kellywendlandt3940]

Great lesson! Really helps on the iii chord explanation. How did you pick the Bdim/C+ as alternatives? I understand the C+ and that its centered around the G# but the BDim would naturally be BDF, correct? (B MAj B-D#-F#-..Dim would flat the D# and F# is my thinking) How does the G# get in the BDim chord?

[@zombieguitar]

Hey good question! Since there are only 3 possible diminished chords to choose from (and only 4 possible augmented chords), you just pick the one that contains the "harmonic minor note" for whichever key you are in. In this key signature, that note was 'G#', so I just chose the one that contained that note. With diminished, you have a 1 in 3 chance of guessing correct. With augmented, you have a 1 in 4 chance. Make sense?

[@a.grujic8905]

@@zombieguitar I think he's asking about chord name, and I'm wondering too. Isn't it Bdim7 we're talking about? Bdim has BDF, and Bdim7 has G# in addition, right? Now, some people say that the right name is actually G#dim7, since it's A minor key and not C major. But this is a little confusing to me, because G# isn't a part of the chord group in circle of fifths. What are your thoughts on this matter?

[@zombieguitar]

@@a.grujic8905 well there is the Bdim triad, BDF. Then you have a B half diminished, BDFA. Then you have B fully diminished, BDFG#. When it comes to fully diminished, they are symmetrical. So Bdim7 = Ddim7 = Ddim7 = G#dim7. Make sense?

[@a.grujic8905]

@@zombieguitar OK, thanks for super-fast answer! I didn't know about half dim BDFA chord. So there's 3 "versions" of Bdim: BDF, BDFA, BDFG#. How often do you use the first 2? I believe that fully diminished is used in 90% of cases, right?

[@zombieguitar]

@@a.grujic8905 well you could use the diminished triad in place of either one. The half diminished is one of the 7 diatonic chords in any given key signature. Fully diminished chords work great as "in between" chords...so if you are trying to play a C major chord to a D minor chord...you could throw a fully diminished chord right in between there and play a C#dim7 as your "in between" chord. Both types are used a lot depending on the context!

[@michaelmiller1424]

"Machine Elves" Terrance McKenna would be proud.

[@MARIO-uf1no]

So changing a iii minor chord to a major or dominant 7th is common practice? It sounds good.

[@zombieguitar]

Yup very common, especially when the key signature is viewed from the minor perspective 😁

[@blade6418]

If i play c major why u use b diminish chord not e diminish?

[@QBRX]

Very interesting. 4 positions of the same diminished chord. Does that mean you can't have a diminished chord in certain keys?

[@gautamasakyamuni6688]

Every key has its own diminished chords,they are symmetrical chords.

[@zombieguitar]

@QBRX2157 it means that in any given key, you have a 1 in 3 chance of using the correct diminished chord for any given key!

[@user-kl7ru1ez4q]

Ok with the acoustic guitar you not so frightening 🙂what I mean by that is that I have not seen more informative guitar teacher ever...world wide 🙂

[@zombieguitar]

Thank you!! 😀

[@user-kl7ru1ez4q]

@@zombieguitar I was wondering if you could help me with some private lessons for song arranging for studio recording consider that I don't know how to read and write music

[@DaLeSy.]

Does it always have to be the 3 chord that we change? How did you know which augmented chord you could use, you used C+ instead of the Em (3 chord)?

[@zombieguitar]

This definitely isn't the only way to use augmented chords, but it is an easy way to start using them for sure!

[@michaelcraig9449]

Augminished and Demented

[@douginny]

Great lesson. The only problem I had with this lesson is that you said there are 3 diminished chords. This was confusing because I thought you were referring to the fact that there are 3 types of diminished chords, a diminished triad, a half diminished chord and a full diminished chord. It looks like you were playing a full diminished chord.

[@zombieguitar]

Yup I was referring to the fact that there are only actually 3 fully diminished chords in total. For every 1 fully dim chord, there are 4 equivalent others that have the exact same notes. Augmented chords and fully diminished chords have that "symmetrical" property that causes this phenomenon to be possible! Make sense?

[@douginny]

@@zombieguitar However, in all my years of theory training, this is the first I have heard about the symmetry of an Augmented Chord. My band is playing in Manhattan on Saturday if you're around.

[@zombieguitar]

@@douginny that's a bit far for me, but good luck at the gig! 😁

[@neilchurchill6494]

Sorry to ask an unrelated question but I wanted to ask one of your more recent videos to get an answer. :) According to the circle of fifths, A major and G major shouldn't work, they are not in the same 6 box. Then why does a chord progression of A G D A sound good? Sorry if this is a stupid question.

[@zombieguitar]

That chord progression would be in the key of D major 😎

[@neilchurchill6494]

@@zombieguitar now I am really confused. I thought the key was the chord either (first / last) or most present. d only features once in my chord progression, how would I determine that D is key the song is in? Or point me to the right video. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

[@neilchurchill6494]

P.s. only found your channel today. Love it!

[@zombieguitar]

@@neilchurchill6494 well, if you watch enough of my vids, you will see me repeat this idea in almost every video...but "fact #2" here in this circle of 5ths video explains how to use the the circle of fifths to find the "in key chords" for any key signature: www.zombieguitar.com/8-useful-facts-about-the-circle-of-fifths/ The fact that it starts and ends on A instead of D, implies that it may be a "Mixolydian progression"...but that is still the same key signature as D. That's a bit more advanced though, so don't worry about that for right now. Simply recognizing that those chords put you in the "key signature of D" is the most important thing here!!

[@christianhaynes7596]

Is machine elves a DMT reference?

[@zombieguitar]

Definitely a possibility

[@DmitryProkopenko]

One thing I can't get: why B and why C?

[@zombieguitar]

So since there are only 3 possible diminished arpeggios to choose from, you have a 1 in 3 chance of guessing right. Bdim = Ddim = Fdim = G#dim. This was the 1 of the 3 that worked for this key since it contained only diatonic notes plus the harmonic minor note.

[@DmitryProkopenko]

@@zombieguitar you are a genius, thank you!

[@zombieguitar]

@@DmitryProkopenko no problem 😎

[@booomgoesthedynamite]

@Brian Kelly In the video, aren’t you actually playing a Bdim7? Bdim doesn’t have a G# in it.

[@danepaulstewart8464]

You could watch other KZbin guitar teachers…… BUT WHY?? You got time to waste? Nope. Here is where it is AT. 👍

[@zombieguitar]

Thanks Dane!!

[@toto6773]

There's no g# in a bdim chord

[@zombieguitar]

Yes there is

[@toto6773]

@@zombieguitar nope, just b d and f

[@zombieguitar]

@@toto6773 that would be a diminished triad. B fully diminished also has a G#

[@emilianpopa1402]

What you call a diminished chord is a diminished seventh chord!

[@zombieguitar]

Fully diminished chord