Recently a friend of mine showed me a little trick with diminished chords that is the key to the elusive, yet much called for “Freddy Green” comping style. In this article, I will discuss this phenomenon, possible through the artful placement of diminished chords throughout a piece of music.
For those of you who don’t know, Freddy Green was the great guitarist for the Count Basie Orchestra. It is well known that he was a huge part of their rhythm section’s unique sound. With a jazz guitar, no amp, and a big fat thumb, Freddy played four strokes to the bar, with what seemed like a different chord for each beat of the song. Somehow, although he was seemingly changing chords with each walking bass note, he never clashed with the bass or piano.
Notice my use of the word “seemingly.” In truth, Freddy usually gave at least two beats to each chord, but the “in between” chords he used were so artfully placed, that he created new chord progressions which outlined the harmonic territory perfectly. The result was a wall of sound that swings really hard. Add to it, the incredibly tight, but very “behind the beat” horns, and there was magic on that bandstand.
Every time I get a call to play in a big band, this is what is expected. It is a tribute to Freddy that he actually defined the way the guitar chair should be approached in this setting. I confess, it was a difficult and elusive goal for me. For the longest time I just didn’t get it until my friend Dean Fransen showed me the trick.
To understand what is involved let me first present a chord progression, the way I used to play it.
Now here is the way Freddy might have played the same progression.
The diminished chords used in between the main chords are essential to making the “four to the bar” comp work. Example 1 is bland and lifeless. Example 2 has movement and tension, but will not interfere with the seemingly random choices made by the bass and piano. The following examples show why.
In the first bar we see an E diminished 7th chord.
In bar two we see what happens when you move the root note up one half step.
(Note that although the spelling of the chord is correct, this may be an inversion you are not used to since it is not spelled from the bottom up and does not include the root of the Eb9 chord.)
In bar three we return to our original E diminished 7th chord for reference.
In bar four we move the root note down one half step. This yields a perfect Eb7 voicing, very commonly used by guitarists.
From this example, we can see that simply by moving one voice, either up or down, one half step, we get a completely new chord with a whole new sense of release to the tension we feel from the diminished chord..
In the next example we’ll do the same thing with the flat 5 of our diminished chord.
Again, simply by moving one note, one half step up or down, we have found two neighboring chords which both have unique resolutions to their sound.
Example 5 deals with the bb7 of our diminished chord or 6th.
One note moved up or down, one half step, and here are two more types of resolution.
Example 6 deals with our minor third tone.
From the above examples we can see that by moving one note, one half step in either direction, we have access to all the following chords: Eb9, Eb7, Em6, A7, Em7b5, Gb7b9, Bbm7b5, and Gb7.
Here’s another phenomenon found in the diminished chord. A diminished 7th chord can be spelled using any of it’s notes as the root. Yes, you heard that right. Try it. No matter which note you spell it from, the result is the same. A diminished 7th chord. What this means is that there will always be one within close reach. It also means that they are somewhat interchangeable. E diminshed, Bb diminished, Db diminished, and G diminished are, in effect, four names for the same chord.
After realizing all the above was true, I sat down with a few tunes I knew fairly well and mapped out the territory. I was immediately able to insert the diminished chords into the progressions, and quickly figure out which ones worked where. With a little practice, I found that I could apply this concept to almost any progression, adding depth and groove to my comping ability. On the next gig, I raised a few eyebrows.
Here are some tips on usage:
1. For a passage where the music says to play a major 7th chord for two or more bars, try rocking back and forth between the major 7th chord and the diminished chord with the same root note. Also useful for dominant 7th chords lasting for two or more bars. (First two bars of Example 2).
2. If you are trying to decide which diminished chord to choose for your passing chord, you have a good chance of being right if you choose any diminished voicing, either one half step below, or one half step above your target chord. (“Target” chord = The next chord indicated by the music.) In Example 2, this is done on beat three and four of the second bar (Dbdim). The “target” chord is on beat one of bar three (Dm7). The same thing happens again right away as we see the Gb dim chord leading to the “target” chord, (G7).
(Note: The last chord in this progression is not a diminished chord at all. It is a G7#5. The #5 is useful as an alternative when the V chord in the progression, G7 is leading back to the I, Cmaj7.)
3. A whole step below is also a workable interval if you are headed to a relative minor chord.
4. WARNING! It is our inclination as guitarists to wear a thing into the ground. Used tastefully, this will really open up your comping. Overused, you will bury the tonality of the original progression with too many passing tones. Sneak it in where appropriate. Take your time. Start with a dead spot in a song, and apply this trick to that one spot. When you are comfortable with that change, look for another place to try it out, but use restraint. Eventually, you’ll be laying down a groove that swings without a bass player!
5. This really helps in learning how chords work together. Right away I started transposing on the spot more effectively, and faking tunes I didn’t even know. Suddenly, I could hear where the progressions were going in a way that didn’t seem possible before. The diminished chords are like missing pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Once they were there, I could see the whole picture. Without them, there were “gaps” in the standards that I didn’t understand and glossed over for years.
6. As always, these and any excercises you learn should be transposed and applied to all keys.
My friend Dean Fransen has given me an incredible gift by sharing this secret with me. I wanted to pass it on. Enjoy!