Diminished (half-whole) on guitar (C)

Diminished (half-whole) in C: C – Db – D# – E – F# – G – A – Bb. On the guitar, six strings open the scale into wide shapes — there is room to choose the region of the neck that sings best. The box shown runs from fret 1 to 4; the lowest tonic sits on the 5th string, fret 3, and the hand stays put in the region, with no position shift. Its hollow wooden body gives every chord a warm, natural ring that blooms and fades on its own.

Climb it slowly and name each degree out loud before speeding up.

In the diagram, each dot carries its scale degree — 1 is the tonic, highlighted.

A scale never lives in one box — diminished (half-whole) on guitar has 4 more positions along the neck. In Chord & Fret, you drill it in Exercise mode — in thirds, pairs or sequences, with the BPM climbing every repetition; walk the scale's shapes along the whole neck, region by region; and run it up, down or in a full round trip. Start free. Unlock everything with Pro. 100% offline. Open in Chord & Fret →

See the full explanation of the diminished (half-whole) scale →

Updated July 9, 2026