Guitar scale · diminished scale
F Whole-Half Diminished Scale
8-note symmetrical scale of alternating whole and half steps: the scale that fits a diminished 7th chord.
Tap any note to hear it.
F Whole-Half Diminished Scale tab: all 5 positions
Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.
e|---------------------------------1-3-4-| B|---------------------------2-3-5-------| G|---------------------1-3-4-------------| D|---------------2-3-5-------------------| A|-------1-2-4-5-------------------------| E|-1-3-4---------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------3-4-6-7-| B|-----------------------------5-6---------| G|---------------------3-4-6-7-------------| D|---------------3-5-6---------------------| A|---------4-5-7---------------------------| E|-3-4-6-7---------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------6-7-9-| B|---------------------------6-8-9-------| G|---------------------6-7-9-------------| D|-------------5-6-8-9-------------------| A|-------5-7-8---------------------------| E|-6-7-9---------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------9-10-12-| B|-----------------------------------9-11-12---------| G|---------------------------9-10-12-----------------| D|-----------------8-9-11-12-------------------------| A|---------8-10-11-----------------------------------| E|-9-10-12-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------10-12-13-| B|----------------------------------------11-12-14----------| G|-------------------------------10-12-13-------------------| D|----------------------11-12-14----------------------------| A|----------10-11-13-14-------------------------------------| E|-10-12-13-------------------------------------------------|
How to play F Whole-Half Diminished on guitar
Find the root first: F is at fret 1 on the low E string and fret 8 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every F on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (♭3, ♭5, 6), the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.
Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 1–5. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.
Degrees
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | F |
| 2 | G |
| ♭3 | Ab |
| 4 | Bb |
| ♭5 | Cb |
| ♭6 | Db |
| 6 | D |
| 7 | E |
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Questions
- What notes are in the F Whole-Half Diminished Scale?
- The F Whole-Half Diminished Scale has 8 notes: F, G, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, D, E.
- What is the formula of the whole-half diminished scale?
- 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 6 7, which is the step pattern W H W H W H W H (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play F Whole-Half Diminished on the guitar?
- The root F is at fret 1 on the low E string and fret 8 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 1–5, and four more positions connect it up the neck.