A couple of searches recently have been for the term “what mode is a diminished chord”. I thought I would have an attempt at answering this question.
A diminished chord is not something that you would typically refer to as a mode. It is just a diminished chord, created from playing the 7th, 2nd and 3rd (7th, 9th and 11th) notes from a major scale. This gives you the diminished chord for the associated key. So as you can see from using the Interactive Circle of Fifths, for the key of C major, for example, the diminished chord would be a B minor diminished.
Opposite our 7th chord in the interactive circle of fifths, we find Locrian mode. Using C major as an example starting point, try clicking on B in the interactive circle of fifths. You will see it rotate around until it confirms for us that B Locrian mode is indeed achieved by using a C Major scale, or chords from the C major key, concentrating on the 7th note, or the diminished chord.
What this means is that if you are playing around the diminished chord of a key, say B diminished and perhaps some other chords from C major, and jamming around a C major scale, but concentrating on the 7th note, you will actually be in B Locrian Mode. Perhaps you could refer to this as playing around a diminished mode.
Check Locrian Mode on wikipedia for more information and some examples of songs written using it.
Tags: chord, circle of fifths, locrian, modes, scale, theory
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