Descending and auxiliary · Diminished chords · Music theory
It can also descend: ♭III°, E♭°7 in C major, connects C/E with Dm7, with the bass falling by half steps. There is no hidden dominant here: its function is…
Descending and auxiliary
It can also descend: ♭III°, E♭°7 in C major, connects C/E with Dm7, with the bass falling by half steps. There is no hidden dominant here: its function is purely passing, and the chromatic line is what justifies the chord.
The third use is the auxiliary: the diminished chord shares its root with the chord it goes to, C°7 before C, and decorates that chord with neighbor notes. It is very common on I and on V. You can recognize it because the root does not move and the other voices return to their places.