Guitar · scales and modes # C, E♭, G♭ and A diminished half–whole scale on guitar The C, E♭, G♭ and A diminished half–whole scales have the same notes, so this one page covers all 4, written from C: C, D♭, E♭, E, G♭, G, A, B♭. Also called Messiaen 2. Messiaen's second mode (octatonic), half–whole form — the standard jazz diminished scale. | Note | C | D♭ | E♭ | E | G♭ | G | A | B♭ | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Degree | 1 | ♭2 | ♭3 | 3 | ♭5 | 5 | 6 | ♭7 | | Step | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ## C diminished half–whole on the whole neck Every C diminished half–whole note from the open strings to fret 15, in standard E tuning (E A D G B E), by name; by degree under "Show more". C diminished half–whole Note names C diminished half–whole Degrees ## C diminished half–whole in 5 positions The neck split into the hand positions Practice Lab practices, one for each place a C falls on a string, with the notes its scale run fingers there. Position 1: frets 1–5, 17 notes Position 2: frets 3–7, 18 notes Position 3: frets 5–9, 18 notes Position 4: frets 8–12, 18 notes Position 5: frets 10–14, 17 notes ## Triads in C diminished half–whole | Degree | Chord | Pages | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | C | [C major arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/c-major) | | 1 | Cm | [C minor arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/c-minor) | | 1 | Cdim | [C diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/c-diminished) | | ♭2 | D♭dim | [C♯ diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/c-sharp-diminished) | | ♭3 | E♭ | [E♭ major arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/eb-major) | | ♭3 | E♭m | [E♭ minor arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/eb-minor) | | ♭3 | E♭dim | [D♯ diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/d-sharp-diminished) | | 3 | Edim | [E diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/e-diminished) | | ♭5 | G♭ | [F♯ major arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/f-sharp-major) | | ♭5 | G♭m | [F♯ minor arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/f-sharp-minor) | | ♭5 | G♭dim | [F♯ diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/f-sharp-diminished) | | 5 | Gdim | [G diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/g-diminished) | | 6 | A | [A major arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/a-major) | | 6 | Am | [A minor arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/a-minor) | | 6 | Adim | [A diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/a-diminished) | | ♭7 | B♭dim | [B♭ diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/bb-diminished) | ## Seventh chords in C diminished half–whole | Degree | Chord | Pages | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Cm7 | [Cm7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/cm7) · [Cm7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/cm7-drop-2) · [Cm7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/cm7-drop-3) · [Cm7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/cm7-drop-2-and-4) | | 1 | C7 | [C7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/c7) · [C7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/c7-drop-2) · [C7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/c7-drop-3) · [C7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/c7-drop-2-and-4) | | 1 | Cm7♭5 | [Cm7♭5 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/cm7b5) · [Cm7♭5 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/cm7b5-drop-2) · [Cm7♭5 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/cm7b5-drop-3) · [Cm7♭5 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/cm7b5-drop-2-and-4) | | 1 | Cdim7 | [Cdim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/cdim7) | | 1 | C | – | | ♭2 | D♭dim7 | [C♯dim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/c-sharp-dim7) | | ♭3 | E♭m7 | [E♭m7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/ebm7) · [E♭m7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/ebm7-drop-2) · [E♭m7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/ebm7-drop-3) · [E♭m7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/ebm7-drop-2-and-4) | | ♭3 | E♭7 | [E♭7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/eb7) · [E♭7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/eb7-drop-2) · [E♭7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/eb7-drop-3) · [E♭7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/eb7-drop-2-and-4) | | ♭3 | E♭m7♭5 | [D♯m7♭5 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/d-sharp-m7b5) · [D♯m7♭5 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/d-sharp-m7b5-drop-2) · [D♯m7♭5 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/d-sharp-m7b5-drop-3) · [D♯m7♭5 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/d-sharp-m7b5-drop-2-and-4) | | ♭3 | E♭dim7 | [D♯dim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/d-sharp-dim7) | | ♭3 | E♭ | – | | 3 | Edim7 | [Edim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/edim7) | | ♭5 | G♭m7 | [F♯m7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/f-sharp-m7) · [F♯m7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/f-sharp-m7-drop-2) · [F♯m7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/f-sharp-m7-drop-3) · [F♯m7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/f-sharp-m7-drop-2-and-4) | | ♭5 | G♭7 | [F♯7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/f-sharp-7) · [F♯7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/f-sharp-7-drop-2) · [F♯7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/f-sharp-7-drop-3) · [F♯7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/f-sharp-7-drop-2-and-4) | | ♭5 | G♭m7♭5 | [F♯m7♭5 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/f-sharp-m7b5) · [F♯m7♭5 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/f-sharp-m7b5-drop-2) · [F♯m7♭5 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/f-sharp-m7b5-drop-3) · [F♯m7♭5 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/f-sharp-m7b5-drop-2-and-4) | | ♭5 | G♭dim7 | [F♯dim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/f-sharp-dim7) | | ♭5 | G♭ | – | | 5 | Gdim7 | [Gdim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/gdim7) | | 6 | Am7 | [Am7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/am7) · [Am7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/am7-drop-2) · [Am7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/am7-drop-3) · [Am7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/am7-drop-2-and-4) | | 6 | A7 | [A7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/a7) · [A7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/a7-drop-2) · [A7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/a7-drop-3) · [A7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/a7-drop-2-and-4) | | 6 | Am7♭5 | [Am7♭5 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/am7b5) · [Am7♭5 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/am7b5-drop-2) · [Am7♭5 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/am7b5-drop-3) · [Am7♭5 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/am7b5-drop-2-and-4) | | 6 | Adim7 | [Adim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/adim7) | | 6 | A | – | | ♭7 | B♭dim7 | [A♯dim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/a-sharp-dim7) | ## Same notes, other names These scales use exactly the notes of C diminished half–whole, starting from another root. - [E, G, B♭ and C♯ diminished whole–half](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/scales/e-diminished-whole-half) ## Diminished half–whole in every key - C, E♭, G♭ and A diminished half–whole - [E, G, B♭ and C♯ diminished half–whole](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/scales/e-diminished-half-whole) - [D, F, A♭ and B diminished half–whole](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/scales/d-diminished-half-whole) ## Practice it in Practice Lab Practice C diminished half–whole in every position, at your tempo, with a plan that adapts. Free, in your browser, no account. [Open it in Practice Lab](https://practice.graph.audio/#practice=scale-dim-half-whole:0:ladder:p1)