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Guitar scale · dominant diminished, diminished scale

Eb Half-Whole Diminished Scale

8-note symmetrical scale used over dominant 7th chords for tension and outside soloing.

Notes EbFbF#GABbCDb
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

Interactive scale diagram

Eb Half-Whole Diminished Scale · Standard tuning

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.

Eb 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.

Position 1 · E shape frets 11–15 
e|-------------------------------------------------11-12-14-15-|
B|-------------------------------------------13-14-------------|
G|-------------------------------11-12-14-15-------------------|
D|----------------------11-13-14-------------------------------|
A|-------------12-13-15----------------------------------------|
E|-11-12-14-15-------------------------------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 13–17 
e|-------------------------------------------------14-15-17-|
B|----------------------------------------14-16-17----------|
G|-------------------------------14-15-17-------------------|
D|-------------------13-14-16-17----------------------------|
A|----------13-15-16----------------------------------------|
E|-14-15-17-------------------------------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 15–19 
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-------------------------------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 18–22 
e|-------------------------------------------------18-20-21-|
B|----------------------------------------19-20-22----------|
G|-------------------------------18-20-21-------------------|
D|----------------------19-20-22----------------------------|
A|----------18-19-21-22-------------------------------------|
E|-18-20-21-------------------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 20–22 
e|-------------------------------20-21-|
B|-------------------------20-22-------|
G|-------------------20-21-------------|
D|-------------20-22-------------------|
A|-------21-22-------------------------|
E|-20-21-------------------------------|

How to play Eb Half-Whole Diminished on guitar

Find the root first: Eb is at fret 11 on the low E string and fret 6 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Eb 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 11–15. 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

DegreeNote
1 Eb
♭9 Fb
♯9 F#
3 G
♯4 A
5 Bb
6 C
♭7 Db

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Questions

What notes are in the Eb Half-Whole Diminished Scale?
The Eb Half-Whole Diminished Scale has 8 notes: Eb, Fb, F#, G, A, Bb, C, Db.
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 Eb Half-Whole Diminished on the guitar?
The root Eb is at fret 11 on the low E string and fret 6 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 11–15, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Half-Whole Diminished Scale in every key

C C# D Eb E F F# G Ab A Bb B

More scales in Eb

Eb Major Eb Minor Eb Minor Pentatonic Eb Major Pentatonic Eb Blues Eb Major Blues Eb Dorian Eb Phrygian Eb Lydian Eb Mixolydian Eb Locrian Eb Harmonic Minor Eb Phrygian Dominant Eb Melodic Minor Eb Lydian Dominant Eb Lydian Augmented Eb Altered Eb Whole Tone Eb Whole-Half Diminished Eb Bebop Dominant Eb Hungarian Minor Eb Dorian b2 Eb Mixolydian b6 Eb Locrian Natural 2 Eb Locrian Natural 6 Eb Ionian #5 Eb Ukrainian Dorian Eb Lydian #2 Eb Ultralocrian Eb Harmonic Major Eb Dorian b5 Eb Lydian b3 Eb Double Harmonic Major Eb Oriental Eb Neapolitan Minor Eb Neapolitan Major Eb Augmented Eb Bebop Major Eb Bebop Dorian Eb Yo Eb Hirajoshi Eb In Eb In Sen Eb Iwato Eb Phrygian b4 Eb Mixolydian b2 Eb Lydian Augmented #2 Eb Locrian bb7 Eb Lydian #2 #6 Eb Ultraphrygian Eb Ionian Augmented #2 Eb Locrian bb3 bb7 Eb Leading Whole Tone Eb Major Locrian Eb Lydian Dominant b6 Eb Hungarian Major Eb Persian Eb Enigmatic Eb Prometheus Eb Tritone Eb Bebop Melodic Minor Eb Bebop Harmonic Minor Eb Egyptian Pentatonic Eb Man Gong