Guitar scale · dominant diminished, diminished scale
C Half-Whole Diminished Scale
8-note symmetrical scale used over dominant 7th chords for tension and outside soloing.
Notes CDbD#EF#GABb
Formula 1 ♭9 ♯9 3 ♯4 5 6 ♭7
Steps H W H W H W H W
Mood Symmetrical, Tense, Outside
Heard in Jazz Fusion, Shred Metal, Bebop
STR OP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 E A D G B E
Tap any note to hear it.
C 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|-------------------------------------------8-9-11-12-| B|-------------------------------------10-11-----------| G|---------------------------8-9-11-12-----------------| D|-------------------8-10-11---------------------------| A|-----------9-10-12-----------------------------------| E|-8-9-11-12-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------11-12-14-| B|----------------------------------------11-13-14----------| G|-------------------------------11-12-14-------------------| D|-------------------10-11-13-14----------------------------| A|----------10-12-13----------------------------------------| E|-11-12-14-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------12-14-15-| B|----------------------------------------13-14-16----------| G|-------------------------------12-14-15-------------------| D|----------------------13-14-16----------------------------| A|----------12-13-15-16-------------------------------------| E|-12-14-15-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------15-17-18-| B|----------------------------------------16-17-19----------| G|-------------------------------15-17-18-------------------| D|----------------------16-17-19----------------------------| A|----------15-16-18-19-------------------------------------| E|-15-17-18-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------17-18-20-21-| B|-------------------------------------------19-20-------------| G|-------------------------------17-18-20-21-------------------| D|----------------------17-19-20-------------------------------| A|-------------18-19-21----------------------------------------| E|-17-18-20-21-------------------------------------------------|
How to play C Half-Whole Diminished on guitar
Find the root first: C is at fret 8 on the low E string and fret 3 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every C 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 8–12. 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 | C |
| ♭9 | Db |
| ♯9 | D# |
| 3 | E |
| ♯4 | F# |
| 5 | G |
| 6 | A |
| ♭7 | Bb |
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Practise C Half-Whole Diminished anywhere, even offline.
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Questions
- What notes are in the C Half-Whole Diminished Scale?
- The C Half-Whole Diminished Scale has 8 notes: C, Db, D#, E, F#, G, A, Bb.
- 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 C Half-Whole Diminished on the guitar?
- The root C is at fret 8 on the low E string and fret 3 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 8–12, and four more positions connect it up the neck.
Half-Whole Diminished Scale in every key
More scales in C
C Major C Minor C Minor Pentatonic C Major Pentatonic C Blues C Major Blues C Dorian C Phrygian C Lydian C Mixolydian C Locrian C Harmonic Minor C Phrygian Dominant C Melodic Minor C Lydian Dominant C Lydian Augmented C Altered C Whole Tone C Whole-Half Diminished C Bebop Dominant C Hungarian Minor C Dorian b2 C Mixolydian b6 C Locrian Natural 2 C Locrian Natural 6 C Ionian #5 C Ukrainian Dorian C Lydian #2 C Ultralocrian C Harmonic Major C Dorian b5 C Lydian b3 C Double Harmonic Major C Oriental C Neapolitan Minor C Neapolitan Major C Augmented C Bebop Major C Bebop Dorian C Yo C Hirajoshi C In C In Sen C Iwato C Phrygian b4 C Mixolydian b2 C Lydian Augmented #2 C Locrian bb7 C Lydian #2 #6 C Ultraphrygian C Ionian Augmented #2 C Locrian bb3 bb7 C Leading Whole Tone C Major Locrian C Lydian Dominant b6 C Hungarian Major C Persian C Enigmatic C Prometheus C Tritone C Bebop Melodic Minor C Bebop Harmonic Minor C Egyptian Pentatonic C Man Gong