Chord Colors

C 7b5 Diminished scale

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About the C 7b5 Diminished scale

C 7b5 Diminished is used for jazz solos over dominant chords with a flat fifth. Think of it as a dominant scale with a flat fifth and a chromatic seventh.

Its notes are C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and B. The formula is W W H H W W H H.

Also called Messiaen Mode 6.

Three open-string notes belong to C 7b5 Diminished, namely E, D, and B. Down at the 3rd fret of the A string lies the lowest C a guitar can play.

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.

Position 1open
Position 2fr 1
Position 3fr 2
Position 4fr 4
Position 5fr 6
Position 6fr 7
Position 7fr 8
Position 8fr 10

Notes and intervals

1CCRoot
2DDMajor 2nd
3EEMajor 3rd
4FFPerfect 4th
5GbG♭Diminished 5th
6AbA♭Minor 6th
7BbB♭Minor 7th
8BBMajor 7th
StepsW W H H W W H H
Semitones2-2-1-1-2-2-1-1
Degrees1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7

Shapes

Chromatic

CC♯D♭DD♯E♭EFF♯G♭GG♯A♭AA♯B♭B

Circle of Fifths

CGDAEBF♯G♭C♯D♭G♯A♭D♯E♭A♯B♭F

Related scales

7b5 Diminished in other keys

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C 7b5 Diminished scale on guitar shown as colored note dots
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