Spelling diminished seventh chords

[MisterMusicarta]

Can anybody point me in the direction of a definitive university-level guide to the proper spelling of diminished seventh chords?
Much appreciated...
Musicarta Bob

[Ian Stewart]

I am not entirely sure I understand the question and can't point you to any university websites. If you are asking about chord symbols, in Britain it is usually dim7 as in Cdim7. Some jazz parts I have seen use Cº7 - which I personally really dislike.

If you mean notating the individual pitches you, should have a diminished 7th e.g. C Eb Gb Bbb. However in my experience musicians write what is easier to read, rather than what is academically correct., therefore it may well be notated as C Eb F# A. This is theoretically wrong, as instead of a 3rd, 5th and 7th it has 3rd, 4th and 6th.

I learnt the dimished seventh chord from the harmonic minor scale. E.g. A harmonic minor is A B C D E F G# A. The diminished chord is built on the 7th degree of the scale - G# B D F.

Apologies if this is not what you were asking.

[BuonTempi]

"Context, context, context."