About the C sharp Diminished scale
C sharp Diminished is used for jazz solos over diminished chords and tense, suspenseful film cues. Think of it as a symmetrical eight-note scale that alternates whole and half steps. It is C♯ Bebop Melodic Minor with the fifth lowered.
Its notes are C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G, A, A♯, and B♯. The formula is W H W H W H W H.
Also called Diminished Whole-Half and Octatonic.
In C♯ Diminished, the open strings sound E, A, and G. The 4th fret of the A string is the lowest C♯ on the neck. Placed at the first fret, a capo lets C♯ Diminished be played with C-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 | C#C♯ | Root |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | D#D♯ | Major 2nd |
| 3 | EE | Minor 3rd |
| 4 | F#F♯ | Perfect 4th |
| 5 | GG | Diminished 5th |
| 6 | AA | Minor 6th |
| 7 | A#A♯ | Major 6th |
| 8 | B#B♯ | Major 7th |
| Steps | W H W H W H W H |
|---|---|
| Semitones | 2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1 |
| Degrees | 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 6 7 |
Shapes
Chromatic
Circle of Fifths
Related scales
Diminished in other keys
Modes
The same notes, starting on a different note.
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