About the A flat Diminished Half-Whole scale
A flat Diminished Half-Whole is used for jazz improvisation over dominant seventh chords. Think of it as the diminished scale starting with a half step, tailor made for dominant chords.
Its notes are A♭, A, C♭, C, D, E♭, F, and G♭. The formula is H W H W H W H W. It is the second mode of G♭ Diminished.
Also called Symmetric Diminished and Dominant Diminished.
An unfretted guitar already sounds A, D, and B from the key. The 4th fret of the low E string is the lowest A♭ on the neck. With a capo at the first fret, A♭ Diminished Half-Whole can be played with G-shape fingerings.
Positions
Playable shapes for this scale up the neck. Tap any note to hear it.
8-position system
8 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. This scale is symmetric, so the same box shape repeats up the neck.
Notes and intervals
| 1 | AbA♭ | Root |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | AA | Minor 2nd |
| 3 | CbC♭ | Minor 3rd |
| 4 | CC | Major 3rd |
| 5 | DD | Augmented 4th |
| 6 | EbE♭ | Perfect 5th |
| 7 | FF | Major 6th |
| 8 | GbG♭ | Minor 7th |
| Steps | H W H W H W H W |
|---|---|
| Semitones | 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2 |
| Degrees | 1 ♭2 ♭3 3 ♯4 5 6 ♭7 |
Shapes
Chromatic
Circle of Fifths
Related scales
Diminished Half-Whole in other keys
Modes
The same notes, starting on a different note.
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