G# diminished whole-half scale
- Notes
- G# A# B C# D E E# G
- Formula
- 1 2 b3 4 b5 b6 6 7
- Steps
- W H W H W H W H (W tone, H semitone)
- Also called
- G# octatonic, starting with a tone
- Also written
- Ab diminished whole-half: Ab Bb Cb Db D Fb F G
Eight notes from G# up to the next G#. Symmetric scales repeat a letter or skip one, so the spelling here keeps each note to a single sharp or flat.
G# diminished whole-half on the piano
From G#4 to G#5, the root in blue-green.
Intervals from G#
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| G# | 1 | root | 0 |
| A# | 2 | major second | 2 |
| B | b3 | minor third | 3 |
| C# | 4 | perfect fourth | 5 |
| D | b5 | diminished fifth | 6 |
| E | b6 | minor sixth | 8 |
| E# | 6 | major sixth | 9 |
| G | 7 | major seventh | 11 |
G# diminished whole-half 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 G# diminished whole-half
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 |
|---|---|
| G# | G#dim, G#dim7 |
| A# (Bb) | Bb, Bbm, A#dim, Bb6, Bbm6, Bb7, Bbm7, A#m7b5, A#dim7, Bb7b9, Bb7#9 |
| B | Bdim, Bdim7 |
| C# (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 |
| E# (F) | Fdim, Fdim7 |
| G | G, Gm, Gdim, G6, Gm6, G7, Gm7, Gm7b5, Gdim7, G7b9, G7#9 |
Same notes, different home note
G# diminished whole-half uses exactly the same notes as Db diminished half-whole, D diminished whole-half, E diminished half-whole, F diminished whole-half, G diminished half-whole, 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 G# diminished whole-half is built
Eight notes, alternating a whole tone and a semitone, starting with the whole tone. It holds the diminished seventh chord G#dim7 (G# B D E#) plus the note a whole tone above each of its notes, which is why it is the scale played over a diminished seventh chord. Its notes repeat every three semitones, so it is also the whole-half scale on D, F and B.
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. Ab diminished whole-half is the same sounds written from Ab; 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.