SCALE REFERENCE

B♭ Diminished (Whole–Half)

B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭ – E – G♭ – G – A1 2 b3 4 b5 b6 6 7

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

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

Notes & degrees
B♭1C2D♭b3E♭4Eb5G♭b6G6A7
NotesBb, C, Db, Eb, E, Gb, G, A
StepsW – H – W – H – W – H – W – H (W = whole, H = half)
Also calledOctatonic
Piano
CEGAB♭D♭E♭G♭
Guitar & ukulele — every position (frets 0–12)
357912eEG♭GAB♭CD♭E♭EBCD♭E♭EG♭GAB♭GGAB♭CD♭E♭EG♭GDE♭EG♭GAB♭CD♭AAB♭CD♭E♭EG♭GAEEG♭GAB♭CD♭E♭E

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

357912AAB♭CD♭E♭EG♭GAEEG♭GAB♭CD♭E♭ECCD♭E♭EG♭GAB♭CGGAB♭CD♭E♭EG♭G

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.