What is a diminished scale and how are diminished scales

derived?

The diminished scale is a special scale that accompanies a fully diminished 7 th chord.
Just to review, a diminished 7th chord is constructed by stacking minor thirds on top of
each other until you build a 7th chord. Here’s a diminished 7th chord:

There are 3 ways to think about constructing the scale that corresponds to the
diminished chord:

1. Combine two minor tetrachords a tritone apart (a tetrachord is a 4-note scale, and a
minor tetrachord is basically the first 4 notes of the Dorian minor mode, so for
example, combine the first 4 notes of a C- scale with the first 4 notes of an F#- scale)

2. Play alternating whole- and half-steps:

3. Combine two fully diminished 7th chords a whole step apart, for example,
combine C(dim.)7 and D(dim.)7:

Also, be aware that the diminished scale is sometimes called the “octatonic”
scale because it has 8 notes (“octa” = 8, “tonic” = tones), as opposed to other scales
like the diatonic modes (or church modes) which have 7 notes or pentatonic scales
which have 5 notes.

What are the unique properties of the diminished scale?

Diminished scales are symmetrical scales, meaning that they can only be transposed
into another “key” a limited number of times before they repeat themselves – before
you get the same scale with the exact same pitches, just starting on a different note.
Since they are “limited transposition” scales, you can’t generate modes from
diminished scales the same way you can with an asymmetric scale, such as the major
scale (also called the Ionian mode).

As it turns out, there are only 3 diminished scales. If you don’t believe me, try
building diminished scales yourself and see how many unique scales you can generate
before you wind up with a scale with the exact same pitches as the one you started on,
just played in a different order.

Diminished scales have a lot of built-in major triads and

7th chords.

Using only notes derived from a given diminished scale, you can extract a lot of
useful and familiar-sounding harmonic structures. This is useful – one of the best
ways to tap into the “diminished sound” is to play melodic patterns based on the
internal structures of the diminished scale, as opposed to just running up and down the
scale in stepwise motion.

There are major triads, dominant 7th chords, dominant 7th (b5) chords, minor 7th chords,
and minor 7th (b5) chords you can build off of the 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th scale degrees of
the diminished scale. There are also fully diminished 7th chords you can build off
every note of the diminished scale, and there are diminished major 7th chords you can
build of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th scale degrees. Here’s a visualization to show what I
mean:
There are a few other types 7th chords you can extract from the diminished scale – see
if you can find them for yourself: diminished major 7th, minor (major 7) b5, major 7
(sus 4) #5, and major 7 (sus 4) b5.

How do you use diminished scales?

Here are some of the best applications of the diminished scale:

1. Over a fully diminished 7th chord with the same root (the most “obvious” use):

2. Over a dominant 7th (b9) chord, starting the diminished scale a half-step above the
root (also sometimes called the “auxiliary diminished” scale or the “b9” scale, this is
similar but not identical to the altered scale – note that the diminished dominant scale
has a natural 13, not a b13, and it has the perfect 5th above the root – which is not the
case with the altered scale):

3. Over a minor II-V7 with the diminished scale starting on the root of the II-7(b5)
chord (resolving to the diatonic Dorian mode on the I- chord) – note that one
diminished scale works nicely over both the II-7(b5) and the V7(b9) chords:

4. Over a pedal point (any diminished scale will work, but most often the chord with
the same root as the pedal note works best):

Finally, here is a very useful “insider” tip: diminished scales work best starting with
the whole step first when playing both ascending or descending step-wise
melodies over dominant 7th (b9) chords. This is because it allows the chord tones
and the “colorful” notes to fall on the beat when using the diminished scale over
dominant 7th (b9) chords. Most importantly, it also makes resolving into the next
chord generally easier and more natural. For example:
I hope you find this a helpful guide for exploring diminished scales. Be aware that
there a number of exotic sounding melodic patterns you can create from the
diminished scale because it is symmetric – see if you can come up with your own
patterns, and happy practicing!