Diminished Scale Guitar Workout - Chords And Melody - Free PDF And YouTube Short

What's The Diminished Scale

The diminished scale is a symmetrical scale used often in jazz and classical music.

It’s built by alternating whole steps and half steps.

There are two main types of diminished scales:

1. Half-Whole Diminished Scale (starts with a half step)

Formula: ½ – 1 – ½ – 1 – ½ – 1 – ½ – 1

Use: Commonly used over dominant 7♭9 chords (like G7♭9).

Example (G half-whole):
G – A♭ – B♭ – B – D♭ – D – E – F

2. Whole-Half Diminished Scale (starts with a whole step)

Formula: 1 – ½ – 1 – ½ – 1 – ½ – 1 – ½

Use: Fits over diminished 7th chords (like G°7).

Example (G whole-half):
G – A – B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭ – E – F♯

Why It’s Cool

It’s symmetrical, so it repeats patterns every few notes.

Lets you create outside-sounding lines while still fitting the harmony.

Used a lot in bebop, fusion, and film scores for tension or ambiguity.

Get It On

Diminished Scale Workout

Here are the two related diminished scales used for this short lesson : 

B Half-Whole Diminished Scale

Formula: B – C – D – E♭ / D♯ – F – G♭ / F♯ – G♯ / A♭ – A

Steps:

B → C (half)

C → D (whole)

D → D♯ / E♭(half)

D♯ / E♭→ F (whole)

F → F♯ / G♭(half)

F♯ / G♭→ G♯ / A♭(whole)

G♯ / A♭→ A (half)

Here are the intervals that make the scale :

B – Root (1)

C – Minor 2nd / Minor 9th (♭2 /♭9)

D – Minor 3rd or Augmented Ninth ( ♭3 or ♯9)

E♭/ D♯ – Major 3rd (3)

F – Diminished 5th (♭5)

F♯ / G♭– Perfect 5th (5)

G♯ / A♭– Major 6th or Thirteenth (6 or 13)

A – Minor 7th (♭7)

Use It Over:

B7♭9, B7#9, B7♭5, B7#11, 13♭9, or other altered dominant chords

Also sounds great over tritone subs (like F7alt for B7).

C Whole-Half Diminished Scale

Formula: C – D – E♭/ D# – F – F♯ / G♭ – G♯ / A♭– A – B

Steps:

C → D (whole)

D → E♭/ D# (half)

E♭/ D# → F (whole)

F → F♯ / G♭(half)

F♯ / G♭→ G♯ / A♭(whole)

G♯ / A♭→ A (half)

A → B (whole)

B → C (half – back to root)

Intervals :

C – Root (1)

D – Major 2nd or Ninth (2 / 9)

E♭/ D# – Minor 3rd or Augmented Ninth (♭3 or #9)

F – Perfect 4th or Eleventh (4 / 11)

F♯ / G♭– Diminished 5th (♭5)

G♯ / A♭– Minor 6th, Flat Thirteenth or Augmented Fifth (♭6,♭13 or ♯5)

A – Major 6th or Thirteenth (6 or 13)

B – Major 7th (7)

Use It Over:

C°7, C diminished chords

Also works over E♭°, G♭°, and A° because diminished 7th chords are symmetric (they share the same notes).

Chord Voicings Used

The three chord voicings used in this lesson are :

7♭9 (1, 3, ♭7, ♭9)

7#9 (1, 3, ♭7, #9)

dim7 (1, ♭5, ♭♭7♭3)

Giving the following sequence in B :

B♭7♭9, B7#9, Cdim7

which is repeated every minor thirds, thus giving :

B7♭9, B7#9, Cdim7

D7♭9, D7#9, E♭dim7

F7♭9, F7#9, G♭dim7

A♭7♭9, A♭7#9, Adim7