Diminished (whole-half) scale in C
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. Eight notes in whole–half steps: the diminished seventh chord’s own scale, repeating its pattern every minor third.
Twin of the half-whole scale, starting on the other foot: here the order is whole step, half step, eight notes in total. It is the home scale of the diminished seventh chord — that suspenseful chord begging for resolution — since it repeats its own pattern every minor third; in practice, the structure returns identical every three half steps. The sound is whirling and tense, like a climax kept waiting. The bb7 in the formula is the same pitch as the 6th, spelled differently to show the diminished seventh; this color lives more in Impressionist and modern composition than in everyday repertoire.
Example: C – D – Eb – F – Gb – Ab – Bbb – BFormula: 1 – 2 – b3 – 4 – b5 – b6 – bb7 – 7In 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.