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 C#DEE#GG#A#B
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|----------------------------------------------9-10-12-13-| B|----------------------------------------11-12------------| G|-----------------------------9-10-12-13------------------| D|---------------------9-11-12-----------------------------| A|------------10-11-13-------------------------------------| E|-9-10-12-13----------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------12-13-15-| B|----------------------------------------12-14-15----------| G|-------------------------------12-13-15-------------------| D|-------------------11-12-14-15----------------------------| A|----------11-13-14----------------------------------------| E|-12-13-15-------------------------------------------------|
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|-------------------------------------------------16-18-19-| B|----------------------------------------17-18-20----------| G|-------------------------------16-18-19-------------------| D|----------------------17-18-20----------------------------| A|----------16-17-19-20-------------------------------------| E|-16-18-19-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------18-19-21-22-| B|-------------------------------------------20-21-------------| G|-------------------------------18-19-21-22-------------------| D|----------------------18-20-21-------------------------------| A|-------------19-20-22----------------------------------------| E|-18-19-21-22-------------------------------------------------|
How to play C# Half-Whole Diminished on guitar
Find the root first: C# is at fret 9 on the low E string and fret 4 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 9–13. 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 | D |
| ♯9 | E |
| 3 | E# |
| ♯4 | G |
| 5 | G# |
| 6 | A# |
| ♭7 | B |
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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#, D, E, E#, G, G#, A#, B.
- 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 9 on the low E string and fret 4 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 9–13, 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