F# Half-Whole Diminished Scale

F# half-whole diminished scale notes and intervals

F# 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:

• G whole-half diminished — whole-half diminished — the same eight notes from the b2
• A half-whole diminished — half-whole diminished from the b3 — the same eight notes again, a minor third up

F# half-whole diminished scale positions on guitar — all 8

Three notes on every string gives F# 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 0–5

Starts on the 1 (F#) on the 6th string. Practice this position →

Position 2 — frets 2–6

Starts on the b2 (G) on the 6th string. Practice this position →

Position 3 — frets 3–8

Starts on the b3 (A) on the 6th string. Practice this position →

Position 4 — frets 5–9

Starts on the 3 (A#) on the 6th string. Practice this position →

Position 5 — frets 6–11

Starts on the #4 (C) on the 6th string. Practice this position →

Position 6 — frets 8–12

Starts on the 5 (C#) on the 6th string. Practice this position →

Position 7 — frets 9–14

Starts on the 6 (D#) on the 6th string. Practice this position →

Position 8 — frets 11–15

Starts on the b7 (E) on the 6th string. Practice this position →

Chords to play F# half-whole diminished over

F# half-whole diminished is the scale for F#7 with an altered 9th. It holds the whole F#7 chord (F# A# C# E) and adds the b9, #9, #11 and 13 (G A C D#), 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 A7, C7 and D#7 just as well.

Play the F#7 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 F# half-whole diminished scale

1. Start with position 1 at frets 0–5, slowly, until every note lands on the click. The loop keeps the shape and the tempo for you.
2. Slide the shape: position 3 is the same fingering 3 frets higher, and the same notes. Play one, then the other, and the move is the scale.
3. 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.
4. Switch the same position to the F#7 arpeggio, the chord’s notes alone, then back to the scale.
5. See every F# half-whole diminished note across the whole neck on the Fretboard, and find each box again an octave up.