Chord & FretDiminished (half-whole) (C)
Alternate half step and whole step until you reach eight notes: that is the half-whole diminished scale. The eighth note completes a symmetry, that is, a pattern that repeats itself every minor third — every three half steps — stacking tensions in a perfectly even way. The sound is edgy and unstable, like a spinning gear. It mainly serves 7(b9) dominants, which simply means tension chords with a lowered 9th, and it is the “diminished” color found in the sophisticated harmony vocabulary of MPB and bossa nova; the #2 in the formula is the same pitch as b3, spelled that way to show the #9 tension.
Example: C – Db – D# – E – F# – G – A – BbFormula: 1 – b2 – #2 – 3 – #4 – 5 – 6 – b7In the formula, the numbers are degrees — positions counted in the reference major scale; "b" lowers a half step and "#" raises one.
Family: Symmetric scales.
They repeat a regular intervallic pattern, which allows internal transpositions — the diminished scale, for instance, repeats its structure every minor third.
The same scale on all four instruments
In the diagrams, each dot carries its scale degree — 1 is the tonic, highlighted.
One box per instrument is just the doorway into diminished (half-whole). In Chord & Fret, you drill it in Exercise mode — in thirds, pairs or sequences, with the BPM climbing every repetition; walk the scale's positions along the whole neck; and choose to start from the tonic or play the full box. Start free. Unlock everything with Pro. 100% offline. See it in Chord & Fret →