Guitar scale · dominant diminished, diminished scale
E Half-Whole Diminished Scale
8-note symmetrical scale used over dominant 7th chords for tension and outside soloing.
Tap any note to hear it.
E 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|---------------------------------0-1-3-4-| B|-----------------------------2-3---------| G|---------------------0-1-3-4-------------| D|---------------0-2-3---------------------| A|---------1-2-4---------------------------| E|-0-1-3-4---------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------3-4-6-| B|---------------------------3-5-6-------| G|---------------------3-4-6-------------| D|-------------2-3-5-6-------------------| A|-------2-4-5---------------------------| E|-3-4-6---------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------4-6-7-| B|---------------------------5-6-8-------| G|---------------------4-6-7-------------| D|---------------5-6-8-------------------| A|-------4-5-7-8-------------------------| E|-4-6-7---------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------------7-9-10-| B|--------------------------------8-9-11--------| G|-------------------------7-9-10---------------| D|------------------8-9-11----------------------| A|--------7-8-10-11-----------------------------| E|-7-9-10---------------------------------------|
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----------------------------------------------|
How to play E Half-Whole Diminished on guitar
Find the root first: E is at fret 0 on the low E string and fret 7 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every E 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 0–4. 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 | E |
| ♭9 | F |
| ♯9 | G |
| 3 | G# |
| ♯4 | A# |
| 5 | B |
| 6 | C# |
| ♭7 | D |
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Questions
- What notes are in the E Half-Whole Diminished Scale?
- The E Half-Whole Diminished Scale has 8 notes: E, F, G, G#, A#, B, C#, D.
- 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 E Half-Whole Diminished on the guitar?
- The root E is at fret 0 on the low E string and fret 7 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 0–4, and four more positions connect it up the neck.