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