Chord Colors

G♯ Diminished scale

About the G sharp Diminished scale

G 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 G Bebop Melodic Minor with the fifth lowered.

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

Also called Diminished Whole-Half and Octatonic.

Learn more about the G♯ Diminished scale

Three of the notes in G Diminished are black keys, G, A, and C. The scale includes a stretch of four consecutive white keys.

Notes and intervals

1G#G♯Root
2A#A♯Major 2nd
3BBMinor 3rd
4C#C♯Perfect 4th
5DDDiminished 5th
6EEMinor 6th
7E#E♯Major 6th
8GGMajor 7th
StepsW H W H W H W H
Semitones2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1
Degrees1 2 3 4 5 6 6 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

Diminished in other keys

Modes

The same notes, starting on a different note.

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Ab Diminished scale on piano shown as colored note dots
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