About the A flat Blues Diminished scale
A flat Blues Diminished is used for blues and jazz-blues solos. Think of it as a six-note blues scale with a diminished twist. It is A♭ Minor Blues with the fourth lowered.
Its notes are A♭, C♭, C, D, E♭, and G♭. The formula is 1½ H W H 1½ W.
D and B are open guitar strings that sit inside the scale, ready to drone under a riff. The 4th fret of the low E string is the lowest A♭ on the neck. Capo the first fret to play A♭ Blues Diminished with G-shape fingerings.
Positions
Playable shapes for this scale up the neck. Tap any note to hear it.
6-position system
6 four-fret boxes, one per scale degree, each a single hand position with almost no shifting. The jazz and classical way, from William Leavitt's Berklee method.
Notes and intervals
| 1 | AbA♭ | Root |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | CbC♭ | Minor 3rd |
| 3 | CC | Major 3rd |
| 4 | DD | Diminished 5th |
| 5 | EbE♭ | Perfect 5th |
| 6 | GbG♭ | Minor 7th |
| Steps | 1½ H W H 1½ W |
|---|---|
| Semitones | 3-1-2-1-3-2 |
| Degrees | 1 ♭3 3 ♭5 5 ♭7 |
Shapes
Chromatic
Circle of Fifths
Related scales
Blues Diminished in other keys
Modes
The same notes, starting on a different note.
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