G diminished (half-whole) scale on bass
G diminished (half-whole) has 8 notes: G G♯ A♯ B C♯ D E F. Degrees: 1 ♭2 ♭3 3 ♭5 5 6 ♭7. Formula: H W H W H W H W.
What notes are in the G diminished (half-whole) scale?
G, G♯, A♯, B, C♯, D, E and F. It has 8 notes; its formula in whole and half steps is H W H W H W H W.
What does G diminished (half-whole) sound like, and when do you use it?
Symmetric: it repeats every three semitones. Elegant tension. Use it over 7♭9 (diminished dominant).
Chord progressions to improvise with G diminished (half-whole)
In Jam mode (the Jam button above) a band of grand piano, upright bass and drums (recorded instruments) plays these progressions as swing, bossa, groove or ballad, and the fretboard lights up the notes of each chord as it plays. It's a backing track made for this scale in G:
- Symmetric (I7♭9–♭III7♭9–♭V7♭9–VI7♭9): G7♭9 | B♭7♭9 | D♭7♭9 | E7♭9. The same chord moving up in minor thirds: the scale doesn't change. That's how symmetric it is.
G diminished (half-whole) positions on bass
In standard tuning (E A D G), with 3 notes per string, G diminished (half-whole) is played in 8 positions along the neck:
- Position 1: frets 1 to 6 (starts on the root)
- Position 2: frets 3 to 7
- Position 3: frets 4 to 9
- Position 4: frets 6 to 10
- Position 5: frets 7 to 12
- Position 6: frets 9 to 13
- Position 7: frets 10 to 15
- Position 8: frets 0 to 4
Same notes as
D♭ diminished (half-whole) · E diminished (half-whole) · B♭ diminished (half-whole) · D diminished (whole-half) · F diminished (whole-half) · A♭ diminished (whole-half) · B diminished (whole-half)
Diminished (half-whole) in other keys
On other instruments
G diminished (half-whole) on piano · G diminished (half-whole) on guitar · All scales