Db Half-Whole Diminished Scale
The Db half-whole diminished scale (also written C#) — Db D E F G Ab Bb B — with its intervals, the chords it fits and every position on the guitar neck.
Also written C# half-whole diminished. C# and Db are the same pitch — Db is the spelling in common use.
Tap any note on the neck.
Swipe the neck sideways to see the higher frets.
Db half-whole diminished scale notes and intervals
Db half-whole diminished has 8 notes. Each is named by its distance from the root, which is the same in every key — learn the numbers once and every half-whole diminished scale reads the same.
Step pattern from the root: H – W – H – W – H – W – H – W (W is a whole step, two frets; H is a half step, one fret).
Scales it shares notes with:
- D whole-half diminished — whole-half diminished — the same eight notes from the b2
- E half-whole diminished — half-whole diminished from the b3 — the same eight notes again, a minor third up
Db half-whole diminished scale positions on guitar — all 8
Three notes on every string gives Db half-whole diminished eight positions, one starting on each note of the scale, that together cover frets 0 to 15. The scale repeats itself every minor third, so the eight are only two shapes: positions 1, 3, 5 and 7 are one, 2, 4, 6 and 8 the other, and moving either one three frets up or down gives the same notes again. Learn the two and slide them.
Position 1 — frets 7–12
Starts on the 1 (Db) on the 6th string. Practice this position →
Position 2 — frets 9–13
Starts on the b2 (D) on the 6th string. Practice this position →
Position 3 — frets 10–15
Starts on the b3 (E) on the 6th string. Practice this position →
Position 4 — frets 0–4
Starts on the 3 (F) on the 6th string. Practice this position →
Position 5 — frets 1–6
Starts on the #4 (G) on the 6th string. Practice this position →
Position 6 — frets 3–7
Starts on the 5 (Ab) on the 6th string. Practice this position →
Position 7 — frets 4–9
Starts on the 6 (Bb) on the 6th string. Practice this position →
Position 8 — frets 6–10
Starts on the b7 (B) on the 6th string. Practice this position →
Chords to play Db half-whole diminished over
Db half-whole diminished is the scale for Db7 with an altered 9th. It holds the whole Db7 chord (Db F Ab B) and adds the b9, #9, #11 and 13 (D E G Bb), the tensions that make a dominant chord pull hard to the next one. Because the scale repeats every minor third, the same eight notes fit E7, G7 and Bb7 just as well.
Play the Db7 arpeggio inside the scale → The Practice Loop keeps only the chord’s notes in each position, so you hear what the rest of the scale is decorating.
How to practice the Db half-whole diminished scale
- Start with position 4 at frets 0–4, slowly, until every note lands on the click. The loop keeps the shape and the tempo for you.
- Slide the shape: position 6 is the same fingering 3 frets higher, and the same notes. Play one, then the other, and the move is the scale.
- Climb 4 notes at a time, two notes up each time: each group starts a minor third above the last, the same step the scale repeats by.
- Switch the same position to the Db7 arpeggio, the chord’s notes alone, then back to the scale.
- See every Db half-whole diminished note across the whole neck on the Fretboard, and find each box again an octave up.
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