Diminished (half-whole) scale in C on ukulele
Diminished (half-whole) scale in C: C, Db, D#, E, F#, G, A and Bb, the degrees 1–b2–#2–3–#4–5–6–b7. The box shown is in open position, from the open strings up to fret 4; the lowest tonic sits on the 3rd string, open, and the hand stays put in the region, with no position shift.
On the ukulele, the high reentrant G reshuffles the pattern — the scale climbs and falls in compact regions. Its soft nylon strings sound warm and mellow, light enough to float gently over a song.
Once the shape is memorized, play the box in thirds: the real memory test.
Text description
Open strings and frets 1 to 4, 4 strings. Root (C): string 3 open and string 1, fret 3.
- String 4 (G): open, G, fifth; fret 2, A, sixth, finger 2; fret 3, B flat, flat seventh, finger 3
- String 3 (C): open, C, root; fret 1, D flat, flat second, finger 1; fret 3, D sharp, sharp second, finger 3; fret 4, E, third, finger 4
- String 2 (E): open, E, third; fret 2, F sharp, sharp fourth, finger 2; fret 3, G, fifth, finger 3
- String 1 (A): open, A, sixth; fret 1, B flat, flat seventh, finger 1; fret 3, C, root, finger 3; fret 4, D flat, flat second, finger 4
In the diagram, each dot carries its scale degree; 1 is the tonic, highlighted.
See the full explanation of the diminished (half-whole) scale →