Augmented and Diminished chords

[Brett Lanier]

In the instance of say "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground," then yes, I would agree that the whole band should be ready for that chord, but if you use aug & dim chords on your own, then you just have to time it right, with the volume of the guitar player and where the bass line is going. I'm no Herb Steiner, but when I play what I consider a diminished chord, usually it's only two notes. Often, one note is a chord tone, and the other, an altered note like a flat nine. A flat nine by itself might sound bad, but the sound of the tritone that it makes with the fifth, builds on what the bass is doing. It's one note, but it can have two different sounds depending on emphasis.

[Paul Crawford]

I guess I'm the opposite of most folks. I don't put them because I'm trying to add some new sound, but because I think the song needs them. A lot of times I know where I'm at and I know where I'm going, but staying where I'm at is too long and going directly to the destination gets me there too soon. Times like these the chromatic scale supplies me with a stopping point in between and that's where the passing chords fit perfectly. One of the better common examples is Patsy's rendition of Crazy. The passing chords are a signature of that song and it just wouldn't sound like the same song without them.

After you get comfortable using passing chords, you'll find yourself leading the group to the next chord or change with your fills. When playing requests or with new members that might not be sure of the next change, you can walk him right to it by using passing chords. It lets me fool people into thinking I know what I'm doing.