Concepts for Comping: Lesson 32
September 2026 Newsletter
Concepts for Comping: Lesson 32
Alterations: Half-Diminished (4-Voice)
Here are the unaltered half-diminished chord types (4-voice) from Lesson 20. Remember that the 5th-string chord is a root-position half-diminished (Unit 4: 7 th Chords):
It should be noted that the half-diminished chord is notated 2 ways:
C-7(b5)
Cø
The circle is the diminished symbol; when you put a line through it you are halving it; therefore “half-diminished.” Technically, there is a conceptual difference between these two chords, but physically and note-wise, they are fingered the same. The conceptual difference is that -7(b5) is an altered chord (e.g. an altered II chord in the key of C), and half-diminished is unaltered (e.g. the VII chord in the key of C). This conceptual difference is not consistently maintained in the common usage, so for all practical purposes, they are synonymous.
This lesson includes explanatory text, fretboard diagrams and a video:
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Video Lesson: Open and Close Unique Voicings - Major & Dominant
Here's something that directly relates to the Concepts for Comping Series that we've been going through for the last 32 months.
You can take the 3-note open and close-voiced 7th chords you've learned, move them all over the neck while adding the 1st and 2nd strings open and find some very atmospheric, and in certain cases, complex, chords.
This is Lesson 13 from a 32-lesson series called, Unique Chord Voicings.
The discovery of the chords in this lesson series was motivated by the desire to get an altered tuning sound in standard tuning. I got into various altered tunings for several years, analyzed why they sounded the way they did and figured out how to get that sound in standard tuning.
I call these chords "Unique Voicings" because they usually involve open strings and so cannot be transposed. The context for the term is very guitaristic. They are available in only one position on a single root - thus the term "Unique."
For more information and free content, go to the Unique Chord Voicings product page.
How About 5 Lessons?
The 5-Lesson Foundational Series teaches the Circle of Keys as an organizational mechanism by which you ensure that whatever you learn is drilled in every key in all possible positions. It also gives you a method to find any note, anywhere, without memorizing note names on every string. That is a beautiful thing!
Almost every lesson I teach presupposes these 5 lessons.
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Blogs Published Since Last Newsletter
Have You Bitten Off More Than You Can Chew? Here's how to not do that!
40 Years of Jamming! I intended to post a little promo for the 40th Anniversary Jam that's going to take place at BB's on Saturday, August 15th. Welp, it turned into more than a "little" promo. So I just published it as a blog instead.
Concepts for Comping: Lesson 31: August 2026 Newsletter, Concepts for Comping, 1st Inversion Major 7 Chords, 5 free foundational lessons, blog links, Tune of the Month and more...
Tune of the Month
Black Magic Woman
Here is a phone video of a performance of Santana's “Black Magic Woman” in April of 2014 at BB's Lawnside BBQ in Kansas City. The Saturday Afternoon Jam has been occuring every Saturday since August of 1984, minus the year of the Covid shutdown. A history of the Jam from 1984 through 2023 is here. It still occurs every Saturday and since long-time host (1986-2025) Mama Ray's passing at age 81 a year ago is now rebranded as, Mama Ray's Legacy Jam Featuring Lori Tucker.
There's a Blog Category called Jam Tales that has stories from the Jam or stories connected to it.
This performance features drummer Steve Barrett, who is a friend of mine from the early seventies. After high school we went our separate ways but reconnected in about 2010 or so. In the interim, Steve played in some pretty big-time situations including a stint with Bobby Whitlock. Does that name ring a bell? It should.
Bobby Whitlock was the keyboard player in Derek and the Dominoes and co-wrote the famous Eric Clapton song “Layla.” He played on George Harrison's “All Things Must Pass” album. You can see Steve in 1992 playing with Bobby Whitlock at the Bottom Line in NYC here.
In 2015 Steve set up a lunch date for him, myself and Bob Dylan's long-time guitar player, Stu Kimball. I tell that story in, Thoughts on Bob Dylan.
Anyway, here's “Black Magic Woman:"
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