Whole Half Diminished Scale – Dim7 Chords

Whole half diminished scale (8-note scale) is built by alternating whole and half steps from any root
note. This scale is used to solo over Dim7 chords, and DimMaj7.

R 2 b3 4 b5 #5 6 7

Or, if you’re playing a G fully diminished scale the notes would be.

G A Bb C Db D# E F#

Here are 12, one-octave fully diminished scale shapes that you can learn in the given key of C
diminished.

Learning one-octave fully diminished scale shapes will allow you to apply this scale to fast moving chord
progressions.

When chords move by at a fast tempo, or more than one chord per bar, larger scale shapes are too
bulky to use in your guitar solos.

Learn each shape from memory, then put on the Cdim7 jam track and practice soloing over that chord
with these scales

After studying these fingerings, don’t get caught up only running them with a metronome in your
practicing.

Learning how to use the fully diminished scale in your solos is an important tool when mastering this
diminished scale on guitar.

So, after learning any fingering from memory, put on the jam track and use that fingering to build lines
over the Cdim7 chord.

From there, take that scale to your solos over other dim7 chords, chord progressions, and full songs in
your studies.
Fully Diminished Scale Licks
The first lick is played over a two-bar Gdim7 chord, and uses the G fully diminished scale over that entire
chord.

Next, you’ll apply the G Whole Half Diminished Scale to the bIIIdim7 chord in a turnaround chord
progression in the key of G.

Lastly, here’s the G# Whole Half Diminished Scales applied to the #Idim7 chord in a G turnaround chord
progression.
Half Whole Diminished Scale – 7b9 Chords
The half whole diminished scale is used to solo over dominant chords when you want to bring a 13b9
sound to your guitar solos.

As dominant chords occur more in popular music genres, such as jazz, rock, and fusion, you’ll see this
scale pop up in your playing more often than the fully diminished scale.

Because it’s used to solo over dominant chords, this scale is often called the “dominant diminished
scale.”

The dominant diminished scale is built by alternating half and whole steps from any root note. When
doing so, you build the following interval pattern.

R b2 b3 3 #4 5 6 b7

Or, from a C root note the dominant diminished scale would be.

C Db Eb E F# G A Bb

Notice that you are creating a good amount of tension when using the dominant diminished scale when
soloing over 7th chords. As you progress in your improvising with this scale, the biggest challenge you’ll
face is resolving that tension.

Make sure this is a priority in your dominant diminished scale practice, as it’ll mean the difference
between success and failure when using this scale in your guitar solos. As was the case with the fully
diminished scale, you’ll sometimes mix sharps and flats when writing this scale out, and have to use a
note name twice with this 8-note scale.

To help your ears get used to these two diminished scale sounds, once you can play one dominant
diminished scale shape, play it back to back with a fully diminished scale to hear how they compare on
the fretboard.

To begin, here are one-octave dominant diminished scale shapes that you can learn in the given key, C,

Once you can play any of these shapes from memory, jam with them over the C7 track below to hear
how this scale sounds when taking to a lead guitar situation.
Dominant Diminished Scale – Licks
The first line is played over a two-bar G7 chord, and the tension over that chord is resolved to the root
note at the end of the phrase.

Next, you’ll apply the G dominant diminished scale to the G7 chord, the V7, in a ii-V-I chord progression
in the key of C major.

Lastly, here are the G and C dominant diminished scales applied to the first four bars of a G 12-bar Blues
chord progression.