A♭ Diminished Scale (Whole-half) on Guitar

The A♭ Diminished Scale (Whole-half) is a 8-note scale (over dim7 chords) built from the formula 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♯5 6 7. Its notes are A♭ B♭ C♭ D♭ E♭♭ E F G. Below you'll find the scale on the whole fretboard and related scales — open it in the interactive fretboard for 3NPS, CAGED and pentatonic box patterns with playback.

Notes and intervals

DegreeNoteInterval
1A♭root
2B♭Major 2nd
♭3C♭Minor 3rd
4D♭Perfect 4th
♭5E♭♭Diminished 5th (tritone)
♯5EAugmented 5th
6FMajor 6th
7GMajor 7th

Steps: W – H – W – H – W – H – W – H (W = whole step, H = half step)

A♭ Diminished Scale (Whole-half) on the fretboard (15 frets)

A♭ Diminished Scale (Whole-half) – guitar fretboardEADGBEE♯5F6G7A♭1B♭2C♭♭3D♭4E♭♭♭5E♯5F6G7B♭2C♭♭3D♭4E♭♭♭5E♯5F6G7A♭1B♭2C♭♭3E♭♭♭5E♯5F6G7A♭1B♭2C♭♭3D♭4E♭♭♭5E♯5F6G7A♭1B♭2C♭♭3D♭4E♭♭♭5E♯5F6G7A♭1B♭2C♭♭3D♭4E♭♭♭5E♯5F6G7A♭1B♭2C♭♭3D♭4E♭♭♭5E♯5F6G7A♭1B♭2C♭♭3D♭4E♭♭♭5E♯5F6G7123456789101112131415

Standard tuning E A D G B E. Pink = root, purple = characteristic notes. 3NPS, CAGED and box patterns plus other tunings are in the interactive fretboard.

Other scales from A♭

Diminished (whole-half) in other keys

FAQ

What notes are in the A♭ Diminished Scale (Whole-half)?
The A♭ Diminished Scale (Whole-half) has 8 notes: A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭♭, E, F, G. Its formula is 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♯5 6 7.
What intervals make up the A♭ Diminished Scale (Whole-half)?
Step pattern: W – H – W – H – W – H – W – H (W = whole step, H = half step). Intervals from the root: 2 (Major 2nd), ♭3 (Minor 3rd), 4 (Perfect 4th), ♭5 (Diminished 5th (tritone)), ♯5 (Augmented 5th), 6 (Major 6th), 7 (Major 7th).