Diminished Scale

The diminished scale has eight notes that alternate half steps and whole steps. Start with a half step and you get the half-whole scale, the jazz sound for a dominant 7th with a b9 (A7b9). Start with a whole step and you get the whole-half scale, built for diminished 7th chords (Adim7). Same pattern, different starting point.

The scale is symmetric: it repeats every minor 3rd, so any fingering moved up three frets gives you the same eight notes. That means there are only three diminished scales, and one shape, slid in steps of three frets, covers the whole neck.

This chapter uses A for both forms:

1. Formula, patterns and sound: both formulas, the patterns and the same shapes three frets up.
2. Practice exercises: full patterns, groups of four, the minor 3rds hiding inside the scale and a cell that moves up in minor 3rds.
3. Soloing: an Adim7 to A7b9 to Dm vamp, with a whole-half line and a half-whole line that resolve into Dm.