SCALE REFERENCE

B♭ Diminished (Half–Whole)

B♭ – B – D♭ – D – E – F – G – A♭1 b2 b3 3 #4 5 6 b7

Also written A♯ Diminished (Half–Whole) — the same pitches spelled the other way.

Half then whole steps — the scale over a 7b9 chord, giving the b9, #9, #11 and 13. The other half of the octatonic pair.

Notes & degrees
B♭1Bb2D♭b3D3E#4F5G6A♭b7
NotesBb, B, Db, D, E, F, G, Ab
StepsH – W – H – W – H – W – H – W (W = whole, H = half)
Also calledDominant Diminished
Piano
BDEFGB♭D♭A♭
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 (Whole–Half)B♭ Augmented Scale

World & exotic

B♭ Hungarian MinorB♭ Double Harmonic MajorB♭ Neapolitan Minor
Diminished (Half–Whole) 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.