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|---------------------------------2-3-5-6-| B|-----------------------------4-5---------| G|---------------------2-3-5-6-------------| D|---------------2-4-5---------------------| A|---------3-4-6---------------------------| E|-2-3-5-6---------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------5-6-8-| B|---------------------------5-7-8-------| G|---------------------5-6-8-------------| D|-------------4-5-7-8-------------------| A|-------4-6-7---------------------------| E|-5-6-8---------------------------------|
e|------------------------------------6-8-9-| B|-----------------------------7-8-10-------| G|-----------------------6-8-9--------------| D|----------------7-8-10--------------------| A|-------6-7-9-10---------------------------| E|-6-8-9------------------------------------|
e|----------------------------------------------9-11-12-| B|-------------------------------------10-11-13---------| G|-----------------------------9-11-12------------------| D|--------------------10-11-13--------------------------| A|---------9-10-12-13-----------------------------------| E|-9-11-12----------------------------------------------|
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-------------------------------------------------|
How to play F# Half-Whole Diminished on guitar
Find the root first: F# is at fret 2 on the low E string and fret 9 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 2–6. 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 | G |
| ♯9 | A |
| 3 | A# |
| ♯4 | B# |
| 5 | C# |
| 6 | D# |
| ♭7 | E |
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Practise F# Half-Whole Diminished anywhere, even offline.
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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#, G, A, A#, B#, C#, D#, E.
- 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 2 on the low E string and fret 9 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 2–6, and four more positions connect it up the neck.