Guitar scale · dominant diminished, diminished scale
D Half-Whole Diminished Scale
8-note symmetrical scale used over dominant 7th chords for tension and outside soloing.
Tap any note to hear it.
D 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|-------------------------------------------------10-11-13-14-| B|-------------------------------------------12-13-------------| G|-------------------------------10-11-13-14-------------------| D|----------------------10-12-13-------------------------------| A|-------------11-12-14----------------------------------------| E|-10-11-13-14-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------13-14-16-| B|----------------------------------------13-15-16----------| G|-------------------------------13-14-16-------------------| D|-------------------12-13-15-16----------------------------| A|----------12-14-15----------------------------------------| E|-13-14-16-------------------------------------------------|
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|-------------------------------------------------17-19-20-| B|----------------------------------------18-19-21----------| G|-------------------------------17-19-20-------------------| D|----------------------18-19-21----------------------------| A|----------17-18-20-21-------------------------------------| E|-17-19-20-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------19-20-22-| B|----------------------------------19-21-22----------| G|-------------------------19-20-22-------------------| D|----------------19-21-22----------------------------| A|----------20-21-------------------------------------| E|-19-20-22-------------------------------------------|
How to play D Half-Whole Diminished on guitar
Find the root first: D is at fret 10 on the low E string and fret 5 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every D 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 10–14. 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 | D |
| ♭9 | Eb |
| ♯9 | E# |
| 3 | F# |
| ♯4 | G# |
| 5 | A |
| 6 | B |
| ♭7 | C |
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Questions
- What notes are in the D Half-Whole Diminished Scale?
- The D Half-Whole Diminished Scale has 8 notes: D, Eb, E#, F#, G#, A, B, C.
- 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 D Half-Whole Diminished on the guitar?
- The root D is at fret 10 on the low E string and fret 5 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 10–14, and four more positions connect it up the neck.