<!-- C, E♭, G♭ and A diminished whole–half scale on guitar: notes, positions and chords · https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/scales/c-diminished-whole-half -->

Guitar · scales and modes

# C, E♭, G♭ and A diminished whole–half scale on guitar

The C, E♭, G♭ and A diminished whole–half scales have the same notes, so this one page covers all 4, written from C: C, D, E♭, F, G♭, A♭, A, B. Also called Messiaen 2. Messiaen's second mode (octatonic), whole–half form.

| Note | C | D | E♭ | F | G♭ | A♭ | A | B |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Degree | 1 | 2 | ♭3 | 4 | ♭5 | ♭6 | 6 | 7 |
| Step | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |

## C diminished whole–half on the whole neck

Every C diminished whole–half 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 whole–half Note names

C diminished whole–half Degrees

## C diminished whole–half 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, 18 notes

Position 2: frets 3–7, 17 notes

Position 3: frets 5–9, 18 notes

Position 4: frets 8–12, 18 notes

Position 5: frets 10–14, 18 notes

## Triads in C diminished whole–half

| Degree | Chord | Pages |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Cdim | [C diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/c-diminished) |
| 2 | D | [D major arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/d-major) |
| 2 | Dm | [D minor arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/d-minor) |
| 2 | Ddim | [D diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/d-diminished) |
| ♭3 | E♭dim | [D♯ diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/d-sharp-diminished) |
| 4 | F | [F major arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/f-major) |
| 4 | Fm | [F minor arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/f-minor) |
| 4 | Fdim | [F diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/f-diminished) |
| ♭5 | G♭dim | [F♯ diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/f-sharp-diminished) |
| ♭6 | A♭ | [A♭ major arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/ab-major) |
| ♭6 | A♭m | [G♯ minor arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/g-sharp-minor) |
| ♭6 | A♭dim | [G♯ diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/g-sharp-diminished) |
| 6 | Adim | [A diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/a-diminished) |
| 7 | B | [B major arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/b-major) |
| 7 | Bm | [B minor arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/b-minor) |
| 7 | Bdim | [B diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/b-diminished) |

## Seventh chords in C diminished whole–half

| Degree | Chord | Pages |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Cdim7 | [Cdim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/cdim7) |
| 2 | Dm7 | [Dm7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/dm7) · [Dm7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/dm7-drop-2) · [Dm7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/dm7-drop-3) · [Dm7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/dm7-drop-2-and-4) |
| 2 | D7 | [D7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/d7) · [D7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/d7-drop-2) · [D7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/d7-drop-3) · [D7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/d7-drop-2-and-4) |
| 2 | Dm7♭5 | [Dm7♭5 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/dm7b5) · [Dm7♭5 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/dm7b5-drop-2) · [Dm7♭5 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/dm7b5-drop-3) · [Dm7♭5 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/dm7b5-drop-2-and-4) |
| 2 | Ddim7 | [Ddim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/ddim7) |
| 2 | D | – |
| ♭3 | E♭dim7 | [D♯dim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/d-sharp-dim7) |
| 4 | Fm7 | [Fm7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/fm7) · [Fm7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/fm7-drop-2) · [Fm7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/fm7-drop-3) · [Fm7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/fm7-drop-2-and-4) |
| 4 | F7 | [F7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/f7) · [F7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/f7-drop-2) · [F7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/f7-drop-3) · [F7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/f7-drop-2-and-4) |
| 4 | Fm7♭5 | [Fm7♭5 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/fm7b5) · [Fm7♭5 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/fm7b5-drop-2) · [Fm7♭5 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/fm7b5-drop-3) · [Fm7♭5 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/fm7b5-drop-2-and-4) |
| 4 | Fdim7 | [Fdim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/fdim7) |
| 4 | F | – |
| ♭5 | G♭dim7 | [F♯dim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/f-sharp-dim7) |
| ♭6 | A♭m7 | [G♯m7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/g-sharp-m7) · [G♯m7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/g-sharp-m7-drop-2) · [G♯m7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/g-sharp-m7-drop-3) · [G♯m7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/g-sharp-m7-drop-2-and-4) |
| ♭6 | A♭7 | [A♭7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/ab7) · [A♭7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/ab7-drop-2) · [A♭7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/ab7-drop-3) · [A♭7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/ab7-drop-2-and-4) |
| ♭6 | A♭m7♭5 | [G♯m7♭5 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/g-sharp-m7b5) · [G♯m7♭5 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/g-sharp-m7b5-drop-2) · [G♯m7♭5 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/g-sharp-m7b5-drop-3) · [G♯m7♭5 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/g-sharp-m7b5-drop-2-and-4) |
| ♭6 | A♭dim7 | [G♯dim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/g-sharp-dim7) |
| ♭6 | A♭ | – |
| 6 | Adim7 | [Adim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/adim7) |
| 7 | Bm7 | [Bm7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/bm7) · [Bm7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/bm7-drop-2) · [Bm7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/bm7-drop-3) · [Bm7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/bm7-drop-2-and-4) |
| 7 | B7 | [B7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/b7) · [B7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/b7-drop-2) · [B7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/b7-drop-3) · [B7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/b7-drop-2-and-4) |
| 7 | Bm7♭5 | [Bm7♭5 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/bm7b5) · [Bm7♭5 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/bm7b5-drop-2) · [Bm7♭5 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/bm7b5-drop-3) · [Bm7♭5 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/bm7b5-drop-2-and-4) |
| 7 | Bdim7 | [Bdim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/bdim7) |
| 7 | B | – |

## Same notes, other names

These scales use exactly the notes of C diminished whole–half, starting from another root.

- [D, F, A♭ and B diminished half–whole](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/scales/d-diminished-half-whole)

## Diminished whole–half in every key

- C, E♭, G♭ and A diminished whole–half
- [E, G, B♭ and C♯ diminished whole–half](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/scales/e-diminished-whole-half)
- [D, F, A♭ and B diminished whole–half](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/scales/d-diminished-whole-half)

## Practice it in Practice Lab

Practice C diminished whole–half 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-whole-half:0:ladder:p1)
