Guitar scale · dominant diminished, diminished scale
Bb Half-Whole Diminished Scale
8-note symmetrical scale used over dominant 7th chords for tension and outside soloing.
Tap any note to hear it.
Bb 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|------------------------------------6-7-9-10-| B|--------------------------------8-9----------| G|-----------------------6-7-9-10--------------| D|-----------------6-8-9-----------------------| A|----------7-8-10-----------------------------| E|-6-7-9-10------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------9-10-12-| B|-----------------------------------9-11-12---------| G|---------------------------9-10-12-----------------| D|-----------------8-9-11-12-------------------------| A|---------8-10-11-----------------------------------| E|-9-10-12-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------10-12-13-| B|----------------------------------------11-12-14----------| G|-------------------------------10-12-13-------------------| D|----------------------11-12-14----------------------------| A|----------10-11-13-14-------------------------------------| E|-10-12-13-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------13-15-16-| B|----------------------------------------14-15-17----------| G|-------------------------------13-15-16-------------------| D|----------------------14-15-17----------------------------| A|----------13-14-16-17-------------------------------------| E|-13-15-16-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------15-16-18-19-| B|-------------------------------------------17-18-------------| G|-------------------------------15-16-18-19-------------------| D|----------------------15-17-18-------------------------------| A|-------------16-17-19----------------------------------------| E|-15-16-18-19-------------------------------------------------|
How to play Bb Half-Whole Diminished on guitar
Find the root first: Bb is at fret 6 on the low E string and fret 1 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Bb 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 6–10. 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 | Bb |
| ♭9 | Cb |
| ♯9 | C# |
| 3 | D |
| ♯4 | E |
| 5 | F |
| 6 | G |
| ♭7 | Ab |
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Questions
- What notes are in the Bb Half-Whole Diminished Scale?
- The Bb Half-Whole Diminished Scale has 8 notes: Bb, Cb, C#, D, E, F, G, Ab.
- 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 Bb Half-Whole Diminished on the guitar?
- The root Bb is at fret 6 on the low E string and fret 1 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 6–10, and four more positions connect it up the neck.