<!-- D, F, A♭ and B diminished whole–half scale on guitar: notes, positions and chords · https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/scales/d-diminished-whole-half -->

Guitar · scales and modes

# D, F, A♭ and B diminished whole–half scale on guitar

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

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

## D diminished whole–half on the whole neck

Every D 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".

D diminished whole–half Note names

D diminished whole–half Degrees

## D diminished whole–half in 5 positions

The neck split into the hand positions Practice Lab practices, one for each place a D falls on a string, with the notes its scale run fingers there.

Position 1: frets 0–4, 18 notes

Position 2: frets 3–7, 18 notes

Position 3: frets 5–9, 17 notes

Position 4: frets 7–11, 18 notes

Position 5: frets 10–14, 18 notes

## Triads in D diminished whole–half

| Degree | Chord | Pages |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Ddim | [D diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/d-diminished) |
| 2 | E | [E major arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/e-major) |
| 2 | Em | [E minor arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/e-minor) |
| 2 | Edim | [E diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/e-diminished) |
| ♭3 | Fdim | [F diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/f-diminished) |
| 4 | G | [G major arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/g-major) |
| 4 | Gm | [G minor arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/g-minor) |
| 4 | Gdim | [G diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/g-diminished) |
| ♭5 | A♭dim | [G♯ diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/g-sharp-diminished) |
| ♭6 | B♭ | [B♭ major arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/bb-major) |
| ♭6 | B♭m | [B♭ minor arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/bb-minor) |
| ♭6 | B♭dim | [B♭ diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/bb-diminished) |
| 6 | Bdim | [B diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/b-diminished) |
| 7 | C♯ | [D♭ major arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/db-major) |
| 7 | C♯m | [C♯ minor arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/c-sharp-minor) |
| 7 | C♯dim | [C♯ diminished arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/c-sharp-diminished) |

## Seventh chords in D diminished whole–half

| Degree | Chord | Pages |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Ddim7 | [Ddim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/ddim7) |
| 2 | Em7 | [Em7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/em7) · [Em7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/em7-drop-2) · [Em7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/em7-drop-3) · [Em7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/em7-drop-2-and-4) |
| 2 | E7 | [E7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/e7) · [E7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/e7-drop-2) · [E7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/e7-drop-3) · [E7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/e7-drop-2-and-4) |
| 2 | Em7♭5 | [Em7♭5 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/em7b5) · [Em7♭5 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/em7b5-drop-2) · [Em7♭5 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/em7b5-drop-3) · [Em7♭5 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/em7b5-drop-2-and-4) |
| 2 | Edim7 | [Edim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/edim7) |
| 2 | E | – |
| ♭3 | Fdim7 | [Fdim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/fdim7) |
| 4 | Gm7 | [Gm7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/gm7) · [Gm7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/gm7-drop-2) · [Gm7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/gm7-drop-3) · [Gm7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/gm7-drop-2-and-4) |
| 4 | G7 | [G7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/g7) · [G7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/g7-drop-2) · [G7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/g7-drop-3) · [G7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/g7-drop-2-and-4) |
| 4 | Gm7♭5 | [Gm7♭5 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/gm7b5) · [Gm7♭5 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/gm7b5-drop-2) · [Gm7♭5 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/gm7b5-drop-3) · [Gm7♭5 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/gm7b5-drop-2-and-4) |
| 4 | Gdim7 | [Gdim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/gdim7) |
| 4 | G | – |
| ♭5 | A♭dim7 | [G♯dim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/g-sharp-dim7) |
| ♭6 | B♭m7 | [B♭m7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/bbm7) · [B♭m7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/bbm7-drop-2) · [B♭m7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/bbm7-drop-3) · [B♭m7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/bbm7-drop-2-and-4) |
| ♭6 | B♭7 | [B♭7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/bb7) · [B♭7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/bb7-drop-2) · [B♭7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/bb7-drop-3) · [B♭7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/bb7-drop-2-and-4) |
| ♭6 | B♭m7♭5 | [B♭m7♭5 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/bbm7b5) · [B♭m7♭5 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/bbm7b5-drop-2) · [B♭m7♭5 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/bbm7b5-drop-3) · [B♭m7♭5 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/bbm7b5-drop-2-and-4) |
| ♭6 | B♭dim7 | [A♯dim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/a-sharp-dim7) |
| ♭6 | B♭ | – |
| 6 | Bdim7 | [Bdim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/bdim7) |
| 7 | C♯m7 | [C♯m7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/c-sharp-m7) · [C♯m7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/c-sharp-m7-drop-2) · [C♯m7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/c-sharp-m7-drop-3) · [C♯m7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/c-sharp-m7-drop-2-and-4) |
| 7 | C♯7 | [D♭7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/db7) · [D♭7 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/db7-drop-2) · [D♭7 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/db7-drop-3) · [D♭7 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/db7-drop-2-and-4) |
| 7 | C♯m7♭5 | [C♯m7♭5 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/c-sharp-m7b5) · [C♯m7♭5 drop 2](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/c-sharp-m7b5-drop-2) · [C♯m7♭5 drop 3](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/c-sharp-m7b5-drop-3) · [C♯m7♭5 drop 2 and 4](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/chords/c-sharp-m7b5-drop-2-and-4) |
| 7 | C♯dim7 | [C♯dim7 arpeggio](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/arpeggios/c-sharp-dim7) |
| 7 | C♯ | – |

## Same notes, other names

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

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

## Diminished whole–half in every key

- [C, E♭, G♭ and A diminished whole–half](https://practice.graph.audio/guitar/scales/c-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

## Practice it in Practice Lab

Practice D 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:2:ladder:p1)
