Scales
A Diminished Scale
A · B · C · D · Eb · F · F# · G#
A Diminished is a scale built on A with the notes A · B · C · D · Eb · F · F# · G#.
Also called A whole-half diminished · A octatonic
A Diminished Scale
A · B · C · D · Eb · F · F# · G#
Fingering on the piano
| Hand | Fingering | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 1 2 3 1 2 1 2 3 4 | A · B · C · D · Eb · F · F# · G# · A | |
| Left hand | 4 3 2 1 2 1 3 2 1 | A · B · C · D · Eb · F · F# · G# · A |
One octave ascending; 1 is the thumb. A standard fingering, not the only one.
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Scale degrees
A Diminished is made of the notes A · B · C · D · Eb · F · F# · G#. Each is a degree counted from the tonic, and the gaps between them are the step pattern W H W H W H W H.
Read on: scale degrees · building any scale
Related scales
A Diminished is a selection of notes from larger scales rather than a seven-note scale of its own, so it has no chords of its own: it takes them from the scales that contain it, listed here with the scales it contains and its related keys.
Scales that contain it
A Messiaen's Mode #7A · Bb · B · C · D · D# · E · F · F# · G#
Contains every note of A Diminished.
A ChromaticA · Bb · B · C · C# · D · Eb · E · F · F# · G · G#
Contains every note of A Diminished.
Understanding A Diminished
Names and spellings
A Diminished is also called A whole-half diminished, A octatonic; every one of those names means exactly these notes.
“The diminished scale” is two scales. The half-whole diminished starts with a half step and fits dominant chords, so it is also called the dominant diminished; the whole-half diminished starts with a whole step and fits diminished seventh chords. Both are octatonic.
Common questions
- How do I play A Diminished?
- On guitar start with the 1st position, played from the lowest string upward; the instrument panel on this page shows its frets and the positions further up the neck. On the piano the right hand ascends 1 2 3 1 2 1 2 3 4, with 1 as the thumb. Every position plays when you press it.
- What notes are in A Diminished?
- A Diminished contains the notes A · B · C · D · Eb · F · F# · G#, measured from the tonic A as the intervals 1P, 2M, 3m, 4P, 5d, 6m, 6M, 7M. Play them in order for the scale: every note on this page sounds when you tap it, and the step pattern under the degrees shows the distance from each note to the next.
- What is the formula of A Diminished?
- From A the steps run W H W H W H W H, where a whole step is two frets or two keys and a half step one. Apply the same pattern from any other note and you get the same scale on that root, which is why every root of this scale has a page here.