Originally Posted by: light487Do you actually bother to play it as a diminished? I certainly don't.. it really sounds horrible to me when I am creating a chord progression that includes the 7th chord.

Yes, of course. But it depends upon what style of music I am playing and how I use it.

Think about this first. In most pop musical style (rock, pop, blues, etc.) when I melody contains the 7th major scale degree, they rarely build a vii diminished chord upon it. 99% of the time they build a V chord on it. The 7th major scale degree is after all the major 3rd chord tone of the dominant chord. And the 7th scale degree is the leading tone which usually leads to a tonic resolution. Make sense?

So, let's think in C major:

E|-0-------------------|
B|-1--3--1-------------|
G|-0--0--0-------------|
D|-2--0--2-------------|
A|-3--2--3-------------|
E|---------------------|
C G C
I V I

So my 7th scale degree is the bass note of the V chord; making it a first inversion G major chord.

Now try this one with a rock style overdrive tone:

E|----------------|
B|----------------|
G|----------------|
D|-5--5--5--5--5--|
A|-3--3--2--2--3--|
E|----------------|
C C G G C
I I V V I

Just power chord diads, but sounds great when trying to get the 7th degree into the notes. Note that the G chord technically doesn't have it's root note G, but it is still functioning as the G V chord.

Now having said that, I do use the vii dim a lot, but usually when playing classical or jazz. This is a classical example in G major:

E|------------------3----------|
B|-5--5---------3---3----------|
G|-5--3---------5---4----------|
D|-5--5---------4---5----------|
A|-3--4---------5--------------|
E|------------------3----------|
C C#dim D7 G
IV vii dim/V V7 I

And a jazz example in C major.

E|-----------------------------|
B|-5------5----------5------4--|
G|-4------3----------5------4--|
D|-5------5----------3------3--|
A|-3------4----------5---------|
E|--------------------------3--|
Cmaj7 C#dim Dm9 G7b13
I vii dim/ii ii min9 V7b13

Hope this helps.