SCALE REFERENCE

B Diminished (Whole–Half)

B – D♭ – D – E – F – G – A♭ – B♭1 2 b3 4 b5 b6 6 7

Eight notes alternating whole then half steps — the scale over a diminished 7th chord. Fully symmetric: it repeats every minor third.

Notes & degrees
B1D♭2Db3E4Fb5Gb6A♭6B♭7
NotesB, Db, D, E, F, G, Ab, Bb
StepsW – H – W – H – W – H – W – H (W = whole, H = half)
Also calledOctatonic
Piano
BDEFGD♭A♭B♭
Guitar & ukulele — every position (frets 0–12)
357912eEFGA♭B♭BD♭DEBBD♭DEFGA♭B♭BGGA♭B♭BD♭DEFGDDEFGA♭B♭BD♭DAB♭BD♭DEFGA♭EEFGA♭B♭BD♭DE

Root notes are red. The full map of the scale on the guitar neck; the common box patterns are groups of these notes.

357912AB♭BD♭DEFGA♭EEFGA♭B♭BD♭DECD♭DEFGA♭B♭BGGA♭B♭BD♭DEFG

The same scale on a ukulele in standard G–C–E–A tuning.

Other scales on B

Core scales & modes

B MajorB Natural MinorB Harmonic MinorB Melodic MinorB DorianB PhrygianB LydianB MixolydianB Locrian

Pentatonic & blues

B Major PentatonicB Minor PentatonicB BluesB Major Blues

Jazz & altered

B Harmonic MajorB Phrygian DominantB Lydian DominantB AlteredB Bebop Dominant

Symmetric

B Whole ToneB Diminished (Half–Whole)B Augmented Scale

World & exotic

B Hungarian MinorB Double Harmonic MajorB Neapolitan Minor
Diminished (Whole–Half) on another root
CC♯D♭DE♭D♯EFF♯G♭GA♭G♯AB♭A♯B
Keep exploring

See the diatonic chords with audio in the Scale & Chord Finder, find where a key sits among the others on the Circle of Fifths, or start the free Cloud Atelier music guides.