Db diminished half-whole scale
- Notes
- Db D E F G Ab Bb Cb
- Formula
- 1 b2 #2 3 #4 5 6 b7
- Steps
- H W H W H W H W (W tone, H semitone)
- Also called
- Db dominant diminished, Db octatonic, starting with a semitone
- Also written
- C# diminished half-whole: C# D E E# G G# A# B
Eight notes from Db up to the next Db. Symmetric scales repeat a letter or skip one, so the spelling here keeps each note to a single sharp or flat.
Db diminished half-whole on the piano
From Db4 to Db5, the root in blue-green.
Intervals from Db
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| Db | 1 | root | 0 |
| D | b2 | minor second | 1 |
| E | #2 | augmented second | 3 |
| F | 3 | major third | 4 |
| G | #4 | augmented fourth | 6 |
| Ab | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| Bb | 6 | major sixth | 9 |
| Cb | b7 | minor seventh | 10 |
Db diminished half-whole on the guitar
Standard tuning, high e on top as in tablature, open strings to fret 12. Every dot is a note of the scale; the pattern repeats from fret 12 up.
Chords that fit Db diminished half-whole
Every chord of the common types (triads, sus, sixths, sevenths, add9, 7b9, 7#9) whose notes are all in the scale, on each of its notes, spelled as on the chord pages. A 8-note scale has no single set of "the" chords the way a seven-note scale does.
| On | Chords |
|---|---|
| Db | Db, C#m, C#dim, Db6, C#m6, Db7, C#m7, C#m7b5, C#dim7, C#7b9, Db7#9 |
| D | Ddim, Ddim7 |
| E | E, Em, Edim, E6, Em6, E7, Em7, Em7b5, Edim7, E7b9, E7#9 |
| F | Fdim, Fdim7 |
| G | G, Gm, Gdim, G6, Gm6, G7, Gm7, Gm7b5, Gdim7, G7b9, G7#9 |
| Ab (G#) | G#dim, G#dim7 |
| Bb | Bb, Bbm, A#dim, Bb6, Bbm6, Bb7, Bbm7, A#m7b5, A#dim7, Bb7b9, Bb7#9 |
| Cb (B) | Bdim, Bdim7 |
Same notes, different home note
Db diminished half-whole uses exactly the same notes as D diminished whole-half, E diminished half-whole, F diminished whole-half, G diminished half-whole, G# diminished whole-half, Bb diminished half-whole and B diminished whole-half. What changes is the note the music keeps returning to, and with it which chord sounds like home.
How Db diminished half-whole is built
Eight notes, alternating a semitone and a whole tone, starting with the semitone. Because the pattern repeats every three semitones, the same eight notes are also the half-whole scale on E, G and Bb; there are only three different diminished scales in all. Jazz players use this one over a dominant seventh with a flat or sharp 9th: Db7, Db7b9 and Db7#9 all sit inside it, as the chord list below shows.
Played some notes and not sure which scale they come from? The scale finder listens to the piano, a MIDI keyboard or the microphone and ranks all 180 scales.
What this page cannot do
- One spelling per scale. C# diminished half-whole is the same sounds written from C#; the root is spelled the way that needs the fewest sharps and flats.
- Equal temperament only. Blues and many folk traditions bend notes between these pitches, and Arabic and Turkish maqam scales use quarter tones that a piano cannot play.
- The guitar diagram shows standard tuning only and does not suggest fingerings; any note can be played in several places.
- The sound is a simple synthesised tone made in your browser, not a recorded instrument.