Guitar scale · dominant diminished, diminished scale
F Half-Whole Diminished Scale
8-note symmetrical scale used over dominant 7th chords for tension and outside soloing.
Tap any note to hear it.
F 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|---------------------------------1-2-4-5-| B|-----------------------------3-4---------| G|---------------------1-2-4-5-------------| D|---------------1-3-4---------------------| A|---------2-3-5---------------------------| E|-1-2-4-5---------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------4-5-7-| B|---------------------------4-6-7-------| G|---------------------4-5-7-------------| D|-------------3-4-6-7-------------------| A|-------3-5-6---------------------------| E|-4-5-7---------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------5-7-8-| B|---------------------------6-7-9-------| G|---------------------5-7-8-------------| D|---------------6-7-9-------------------| A|-------5-6-8-9-------------------------| E|-5-7-8---------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------8-10-11-| B|-----------------------------------9-10-12---------| G|---------------------------8-10-11-----------------| D|-------------------9-10-12-------------------------| A|---------8-9-11-12---------------------------------| E|-8-10-11-------------------------------------------|
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-------------------------------------------------|
How to play F Half-Whole Diminished on guitar
Find the root first: F is at fret 1 on the low E string and fret 8 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every F 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 1–5. 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 | F |
| ♭9 | Gb |
| ♯9 | G# |
| 3 | A |
| ♯4 | B |
| 5 | C |
| 6 | D |
| ♭7 | Eb |
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Questions
- What notes are in the F Half-Whole Diminished Scale?
- The F Half-Whole Diminished Scale has 8 notes: F, Gb, G#, A, B, C, D, Eb.
- 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 F Half-Whole Diminished on the guitar?
- The root F is at fret 1 on the low E string and fret 8 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 1–5, and four more positions connect it up the neck.