Guitar scale · dominant diminished, diminished scale
B Half-Whole Diminished Scale
8-note symmetrical scale used over dominant 7th chords for tension and outside soloing.
Tap any note to hear it.
B Half-Whole Diminished Scale tab: all 5 positions
Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.
e|----------------------------------------7-8-10-11-| B|-----------------------------------9-10-----------| G|-------------------------7-8-10-11----------------| D|------------------7-9-10--------------------------| A|-----------8-9-11---------------------------------| E|-7-8-10-11----------------------------------------|
e|-----------------------------------------------10-11-13-| B|--------------------------------------10-12-13----------| G|-----------------------------10-11-13-------------------| D|------------------9-10-12-13----------------------------| A|----------9-11-12---------------------------------------| E|-10-11-13-----------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------11-13-14-| B|----------------------------------------12-13-15----------| G|-------------------------------11-13-14-------------------| D|----------------------12-13-15----------------------------| A|----------11-12-14-15-------------------------------------| E|-11-13-14-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------14-16-17-| B|----------------------------------------15-16-18----------| G|-------------------------------14-16-17-------------------| D|----------------------15-16-18----------------------------| A|----------14-15-17-18-------------------------------------| E|-14-16-17-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------16-17-19-20-| B|-------------------------------------------18-19-------------| G|-------------------------------16-17-19-20-------------------| D|----------------------16-18-19-------------------------------| A|-------------17-18-20----------------------------------------| E|-16-17-19-20-------------------------------------------------|
How to play B Half-Whole Diminished on guitar
Find the root first: B is at fret 7 on the low E string and fret 2 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every B on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (3, 5, ♭7), the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.
Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 7–11. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.
Degrees
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | B |
| ♭9 | C |
| ♯9 | D |
| 3 | D# |
| ♯4 | E# |
| 5 | F# |
| 6 | G# |
| ♭7 | A |
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Questions
- What notes are in the B Half-Whole Diminished Scale?
- The B Half-Whole Diminished Scale has 8 notes: B, C, D, D#, E#, F#, G#, A.
- What is the formula of the half-whole diminished scale?
- 1 ♭9 ♯9 3 ♯4 5 6 ♭7, which is the step pattern H W H W H W H W (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play B Half-Whole Diminished on the guitar?
- The root B is at fret 7 on the low E string and fret 2 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 7–11, and four more positions connect it up the neck.