Diminished (whole-half) scale in C on guitar
Diminished (whole-half) scale in C: C, D, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bbb and B, the degrees 1–2–b3–4–b5–b6–bb7–7. The box shown runs from fret 1 to 5; the lowest tonic sits on the 5th string, fret 3, and the hand stays put in the region, with no position shift.
On the guitar, six strings open the scale into wide shapes — there is room to choose the region of the neck that sings best. Its hollow wooden body gives every chord a warm, natural ring that blooms and fades on its own.
Once the shape is memorized, play the box in thirds: the real memory test.
Text description
Frets 1 to 5, 6 strings. Root (C): string 5, fret 3 and string 2, fret 1.
- String 6 (E): fret 2, G flat, flat fifth, finger 2; fret 4, A flat, flat sixth, finger 3; fret 5, B double flat, double-flat seventh, finger 4
- String 5 (A): fret 2, B, seventh, finger 2; fret 3, C, root, finger 3; fret 5, D, second, finger 4
- String 4 (D): fret 1, E flat, flat third, finger 1; fret 3, F, fourth, finger 2; fret 4, G flat, flat fifth, finger 4
- String 3 (G): fret 1, A flat, flat sixth, finger 1; fret 2, B double flat, double-flat seventh, finger 2; fret 4, B, seventh, finger 4
- String 2 (B): fret 1, C, root, finger 1; fret 3, D, second, finger 2; fret 4, E flat, flat third, finger 4
- String 1 (E): fret 1, F, fourth, finger 1; fret 2, G flat, flat fifth, finger 2; fret 4, A flat, flat sixth, finger 4
In the diagram, each dot carries its scale degree; 1 is the tonic, highlighted.
See the full explanation of the diminished (whole-half) scale →