Hey there.
In article 'Them There Eyes', John Mcdonald wrote:
JM> Okay, let's see if there's somebody out there who REALLY knows about some
JM> composing!
JM>         I'm using a Fender guitar .  Okay, I got this Billy Holiday
JM> song that I'm arranging, and I got it going like this:
JM>         C....................C#dim7..................D9
JM> "I fell in love with you the..first time I looked into
JM>         G13
JM> Them there eyes..."
JM> [Okay now i want a slight variation on that same pattern, something else
JM> that will work with the same melody, so I got as follows....]
JM>         C.....................C+5...................
JM> "You got a certain little cute way of flirtin' with
JM>         D9
JM> "Them there eyes......."
JM> [Okay? Now I want a third variation.  I tried a Am7flat5, and while it
JM> works, I just don't like it much; I'm talkin' about a replacement for
JM> that second chord.
I think the reason you don't like the A-7(b5) is that the melody doesn't work 
with it. You're playing E(natural) over the Eb in the chord. Usually not the 
best idea. Try making that an A7(b9) and see if you like it more.
The thing that I discovered about dimished chords is that they are usually 
actually a replacement for some type of dominant chord. Look at the second 
chord in "Them There Eyes" as the V shord of the third chord, and you will 
sede what I mean. A C#dim7 chord is really just an A7b9 in 1st inversion 
minus the root. Look at the notes in each, and you'll see what I mean. The 
only difference is that the A7b9 chord has an A in the bottom of it. 
For a different variation, try changing the first chord in the second line to 
an E-7 chord. then the third chord can be an Edim, or an A7b9, which makes 
more sense from a harmonic movement standpoint.
Does any of that work for you?
Will Morrison
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