Guitar scale · half-whole diminished
B Diminished Scale
8-note symmetrical scale used over dominant 7th chords for tension and outside soloing.
Tap any note to hear it.
How to play B Diminished on guitar
Find the root first: B is at fret 7 on the low E string and fret 2 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every B on the neck; the gold ones are the other chord tones (3rd, 5th and 7th), which are the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.
Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 7–11. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.
Degrees
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | B |
| ♭9 | C |
| ♯9 | D |
| 3 | D# |
| ♯4 | E# |
| 5 | F# |
| 6 | G# |
| ♭7 | A |
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Questions
- What notes are in the B Diminished Scale?
- The B Diminished Scale has 8 notes: B, C, D, D#, E#, F#, G#, A.
- What is the formula of the diminished scale?
- 1 ♭9 ♯9 3 ♯4 5 6 ♭7, which is the step pattern H W H W H W H W (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play B Diminished on the guitar?
- The root B is at fret 7 on the low E string and fret 2 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 7–11, and four more positions connect it up the neck.