A Diminished Scale (Whole-half) on Guitar
The A Diminished Scale (Whole-half) is a 8-note scale (over dim7 chords) built from the formula 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♯5 6 7. Its notes are A B C D E♭ E♯ F♯ G♯. Below you'll find the scale on the whole fretboard and related scales — open it in the interactive fretboard for 3NPS, CAGED and pentatonic box patterns with playback.
Notes and intervals
| Degree | Note | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | root |
| 2 | B | Major 2nd |
| ♭3 | C | Minor 3rd |
| 4 | D | Perfect 4th |
| ♭5 | E♭ | Diminished 5th (tritone) |
| ♯5 | E♯ | Augmented 5th |
| 6 | F♯ | Major 6th |
| 7 | G♯ | Major 7th |
Steps: W – H – W – H – W – H – W – H (W = whole step, H = half step)
A Diminished Scale (Whole-half) on the fretboard (15 frets)
Standard tuning E A D G B E. Pink = root, purple = characteristic notes. 3NPS, CAGED and box patterns plus other tunings are in the interactive fretboard.
Other scales from A
- Ionian (Major)
- Dorian
- Phrygian
- Lydian
- Mixolydian
- Aeolian (Minor)
- Locrian
- Major pentatonic
- Minor pentatonic
- Blues
- Major blues
- Harmonic minor
- Locrian ♮6
- Ionian ♯5
- Dorian ♯4
- Phrygian dominant
- Lydian ♯2
- Superlocrian 𝄫7
- Melodic minor
- Dorian ♭2
- Lydian augmented
- Lydian dominant
- Mixolydian ♭6
- Locrian ♮2
- Altered (Superlocrian)
- Whole tone
- Diminished (half-whole)
- Diminished (whole-half)
Diminished (whole-half) in other keys
FAQ
- What notes are in the A Diminished Scale (Whole-half)?
- The A Diminished Scale (Whole-half) has 8 notes: A, B, C, D, E♭, E♯, F♯, G♯. Its formula is 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♯5 6 7.
- What intervals make up the A Diminished Scale (Whole-half)?
- Step pattern: W – H – W – H – W – H – W – H (W = whole step, H = half step). Intervals from the root: 2 (Major 2nd), ♭3 (Minor 3rd), 4 (Perfect 4th), ♭5 (Diminished 5th (tritone)), ♯5 (Augmented 5th), 6 (Major 6th), 7 (Major 7th).