11/30/2023 0 Comments Diminished dominating his next act![]() Here are the three diminished pitch collections, arbitrarily starting on C, F, and G: Depending on your starting note, the two types of diminished scales will alternate, starting with a half-step or a whole-step as the starting interval. Because of the symmetry of the diminished scale, any of the notes from the three pitch collections could be replaced as the starting note for a diminished scale. I like to think of the diminished scale in terms of starting on C, F, and G simply because those are easy notes to remember, although these reference points are completely arbitrary. I will list the pitch collections in terms of the half-whole diminished scale based on C, F, and G, although I could have just as easily written out whole-half diminished scales starting on C, F, and G instead. The three diminished pitch collections can arbitrarily be thought of as starting on C, F, and G. The names “whole-half diminished” and “half-whole diminished” are the most widely accepted names, probably because they are the most clear. The half-whole diminished scale is sometimes referred to as the “auxiliary diminished scale” (again, note the inherent contradiction because some people use the same term for the opposite scale!) the “auxiliary diminished dominant” or even the “auxiliary diminished blues” (not to be confused with the Mixo-Dorian blues scale for soloing over the blues). It’s ambiguous.īut just so you are familiar with the alternate names for these scales, the whole-half diminished scale is sometimes called the “auxiliary diminished” or just the “diminished scale”. I highly recommend using these two terms because there is no consensus on what the alternate terms mean.Ĭonfusingly, I have heard BOTH the “whole-half” and the “half-whole” diminished scales referred to as the “auxiliary diminished scale” by different sources, but since different people mean opposite things regarding the term, I would recommend steering clear of it. The most clear ways to talk about these scales is in terms of the “whole-half” and the “half-whole” diminished scales because it tells you exactly which scale you are talking about in the name. People sometimes use several other names for the “half-whole” and “whole-half diminished” scales, but the other terms aren’t standardized, and are sometimes even contradictory. This scale specifically corresponds with a 7(b9) or 13(b9) dominant chord. ![]() This form of the diminished scale is generally referred to as the half-whole diminished scale. This scale is especially useful for dealing with diminished chords. ![]() This is most commonly referred to as the whole-half diminished scale. In the two different forms below, the W stands for “whole-step” and the H stands for “half-step.” Consider the two forms of the diminished scale, noting the starting intervals: 1. The two forms both have alternating whole steps and half steps, but they differ in that they start with different intervals. There are actually two different forms of the diminished scales, like two sides of a coin. However, the term “Octatonic” can also be used more generally to mean an eight note scale, though it is commonly used in reference to a “diminished scale” instead of the more generic reference. This is different from the major modes, which have only 7 notes, again counting the root only once. Some people call diminished scales “Octatonic” scales, as they have 8 notes (counting the root only once). Each of the 3 diminished pitch collection (scales) can start (and end) on 8 different notes, corresponding to eight different chords (4 diminished chords and 4 “7(b9)” or “13(b9)” chords).ĭiminished scales consist of alternating whole steps and half steps. Their symmetry makes diminished scales prime examples of “pitch collections” because we can easily see the repetitive nature of these scales. The term “pitch collection” is especially useful when talking about diminished harmony. Seeing the notes in a pitch collection outside of their relationship to a sequential “scale” can theoretically be a positive thing for an developing improviser seeking to play coherent melodies instead of just “using this-or-that scale to improvise.” The term is sometimes used in lieu of the word “scale” to help de-emphasize the sequential nature of a scale. ![]() There is a movement in modern jazz theory to talk about scales in terms of “pitch collections,” which is just what it sounds like a collection of pitches. In this article, we will unlock some of the secrets of the mysterious diminished scale. Because of their symmetry, there are only 3 diminished scales and only 2 whole tone scales! Of course, there is only one chromatic scale. It would seem to follow there are 12 of any other type of scale, one for each chromatic note. ![]()
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