B Diminished (HW)

123456789101112131415FG♭A♭ABCDE♭FG♭BCDE♭FG♭A♭ABCDA♭ABCDE♭FG♭A♭ADE♭FG♭A♭ABCDE♭FABCDE♭FG♭A♭ABCFG♭A♭ABCDE♭FG♭

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B Diminished (HW) Scale

– – – – – – – –
BCDE♭FG♭A♭ABSTSTSTST
Step pattern H – W – H – W – H – W – H – W

B Diminished (HW) contains 8 notes: B, C, D, E♭, F, G♭, A♭, A. It has 3 flats: E♭, G♭, A♭. The step pattern is H–W–H–W–H–W–H–W.

The half-whole diminished scale alternates half and whole steps across 8 notes. It is essential for jazz improvisation, providing all altered tensions over dominant 7th b9 chords.

Theory

The formula is 1, b2, #2, 3, #4, 5, 6, b7. The octave divides into 4 minor-3rd groups, each containing a half step then a whole step. Due to symmetry, only 3 distinct diminished scales exist. It works over dominant 7th b9 chords (providing b9, #9, #11, 13) and over diminished 7th chords where each note can serve as root.

On the guitar

Any diminished lick or scale shape can be moved up or down 3 frets (a minor 3rd) and perfectly outline the same harmony. This makes it extremely efficient for generating vocabulary — learn one position and you effectively know four.

Piano
BCDFABE♭G♭A♭
Staff
𝄞BCD♭E♭F♭G♭♭A♭AB (8)
Related scales
B Whole toneB Harmonic minor
Related modes
Whole toneDiminished (WH)AugmentedTritoneChromatic
Arpeggios
B Major Arpeggio
Also known as
B Octatonic HWB Half-whole diminishedB Messiaen mode 2B Korsakovian
Common in
JazzBebopFusionClassical
Examples
  • Have You Met Miss Jones - Richard Rodgers
  • Raiders of the Lost Ark theme - John Williams