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Jazz Studies With Bill Harrison: Play Along Tracks: Lesson 4 – Using the Diminished Scale
Meet Bill Harrison
(Note: Please be sure to download both the mp3 playalong track and the pdf file below to get the most benefit from this lesson.)
Click below to open the lesson and mp3:
Bill Harrison-Play_Along_Tracks_Lesson_4_-_dim
Click here to play the mp3
Last time (Lesson #3) we were working with the full ii-7 / V7 / IM7 / VI7 turnaround in the key of F (Ex. 1). I mentioned that the VI7 chord is a “secondary dominant”, a chord that acts as a V of a chord other than the I in whatever key we happen to find ourselves. In the key of F the VI7 is D7, which is the V of ii (G-7), often notated as V7/ii-7 (the “five of two”). In practice, however, the dominant chord on VI is so common that we don’t bother with the fancy name – we just say VI7.
The other new piece of harmony I introduced last time was the flatted 9th, probably the most common addition or “alteration” to the dominant chord in jazz. On a D7 the 9th would be E; take that note and lower it a half step and you have Eb, the flatted 9th. The natural 9th E, while adding a nice color to the otherwise drab 7th chord, doesn’t alter the scale from which the chord is derived – D mixolydian (Ex. 3).
But as soon as you alter the 9th by either flatting or (as we shall see in a moment) sharping it, the whole harmonic landscape is altered as well. There is no Eb in D mixolydian, nor is there an E sharp (better known as F natural – the sharp 9th). If the harmony calls for an altered 9th, the natural 9th sounds like a wrong note, and playing it makes you sound like a newbie or like someone who isn’t listening.
Fortunately there is a scale that contains both altered 9ths, and here’s how its derived: Take a look at the D7b9 chord (Ex. 2). If you eliminate the root, the remaining four notes (F# A C Eb) spell a diminished 7th chord – all minor 3rds. The scale that connects those chord tones is called the diminished (or octatonic) scale. (Ex. 4). When you apply that scale to the D7b9 it works beautifully and gives the dominant sound a whole new harmonic flavor.
When you compare the mixolydian to the diminished scale (Ex. 3 & 4), you’ll notice that the natural 9th (E) is replaced by both altered 9ths (Eb and F natural) and the perfect 4th (G) is replaced by the sharp 4th (G#). These “color tones” are powerful notes in the jazz vocabulary; they add delightful tension to the dominant 7th, which makes the resolution to I that much more satisfying.
We’re just scratching the surface of diminished harmony; its a deep well of harmonic and melodic material. There are several books on the subject, as well as many recognizable licks using this sound.
So start listening for the altered 9th – you’ll hear it everywhere. The sharp 9th is also very common – it has a very bluesy flavor, since it contains both the major and minor 3rd (which is the same as the sharp 9th). Ex. 5 gives you a couple of ideas on how to use the diminished scale as part of a bass line. There’s space for you to continue developing your sophisticated bass lines on the remainder of the page. Happy walking!
Download MajorTurnPnoDr02F.mp3
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Photo: Self-portrait by Melissa Auf Der Maur
Melissa Auf Der Maur is a Canadian bassist who played with Tinker, Hole, and The Smashing Pumpkins. She released her own work and is a photographer with photos published in Nylon, Bust, and National Geographic. She released her ‘90s Rock Memoir “Even The Good Girls Will Cry” on 17 March 2026.
KB: Did you always want to be a singer-musician growing up?
I’ve played music my whole life. In school, I played trumpet and sang in a children’s choir, so music was always within me. My mother was the first female disc jockey on the Montreal airwaves; her record collection played a huge role in my inspiration and love of music.
KB: When did you start playing bass, and why this instrument?
When I was 19, the early 90s music explosion began to percolate in tiny clubs around the world. I was lucky to be a ticket girl at Montreal’s underground music club. In one year, I saw Hole, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, White Zombie, and The Breeders – all had female bass players. That’s when the seed was planted. By the age of 22, I was the bass player of Hole.
KB: Which brands of basses have you used in your career, and which one are you using now?
The first bass that I learned on was a vintage Squier Precision. Hole was sponsored by Fender guitars, so I upgraded to Fender Custom Shop Precisions. That is all I play, but I have a cool vintage 8-string Greco that I use on recordings to thicken up guitar parts.
KB: What equipment do you use or have you used with your basses?
Ampeg SVT amps and cabinets, a couple of Sans-Amp pedals, and that is it.
KB: How did you become a member of Hole, and what is your fondest memory of that time?
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins was helping scout a replacement for (RIP) Kristen Pfaff, Hole’s bass player. My band, Tinker, opened for them on the Siamese Dream tour, so Billy had seen me play and could vouch for me. Courtney trusted her talented friend, and that was it. I initially said “no thank you” due to my commitment to my photographic studies and the drama and chaos surrounding the band during the “Live Through This” album release. Courtney took it as a good sign that I said no, so convinced me to reconsider, and soon after, I accepted their invitation, in the name of helping put females in the male-dominated landscape of rock music. My fondest memory is every show we played as a mostly female band, symbolizing what a woman could do in a rock band. Every show had a purpose: get more women to play music.
KB: You are a photographer as well. What makes a great picture? Do you shoot in color or b/w?
I started shooting photographs at age 15. Initially only shot black & white and worked in the art school darkroom. In university, I took a color photography course, and shifted mostly and forever to that, because it was easier to process film on the road when I joined a rock band. I experimented with many cameras, point and shoots, manual, polaroids, medium format, and vintage finds. The trick to a good photograph is to shoot many and all the time – the magic is in the edit and selection process.
KB: Are there artists you would love to collaborate with or wish you had?
??I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians in my career. I would still love to collaborate with a new generation heavy electronic artist on an analog bass, heavy electronic drums, and synths collaboration project. Take me out of my usual zone, merging the past and future: my love of 80s dark new wave and new artists exploring that genre. It was very futuristic back then, and we are now, after all, living in the future. I am in the mood to play bass to heavy beats I want to dance to.
KB: What are your 7 favorite bass lines in music across all genres? And why these 7?
“Mountain Song” – Jane’s Addiction (love a rambling, rolling bass line – feels like the ocean waves)
“Black Top – Helmet” (was the first bass line I taught myself)
“Gold Dust Woman” – Hole from “The Crow 2” Soundtrack (it was my first bass line contribution to the band)
“Get Ready” – The Temptations (Motown just feels so good, because of the bass)
“Lucretia My Reflection” – Sisters of Mercy (makes me want to hit the dance floor and play bass simultaneously)
“Be My Druidess” – Type O Negative (full chord bass playing at its best by iconic, demonic, Peter Steele, RIP)
“Romantic Rights” – Death from Above (1979 – unique distorted overdriven tone, combined dance rhythm and melodic intelligence, all in one shot – also! Shout out to a bass & drum only band, which is awesome, and we should have more of, but the bass player needs to be a killer to fill that role.
KB: What are you currently up to?
Releasing my ‘90s Rock Memoir “EVEN THE GOOD GIRLS WILL CRY”. Visceral healing process, it was to get it out of me and write it, but I suspect the real magic will begin by putting it into the world and reflecting with others on what the magic of the ‘90s was all about. Powerful music decade that carried us into what is now a brave new world of digital corporate weirdness – may the past shed a light on our future. That’s my hope for this book release and tour.
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