The diminished scale works well with diminished chords and dominant 7 th. W w h w w w h whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half. The diminished scale is also referred to as the wholehalf diminished scale due to the fact it is constructed by every second whole and half steps notice. This pattern of whole and half steps is what creates the sound of major. Tone semitone tone semitone tone semitone tone in the same way that we studied in the diminished chord, diminished scale repeats itself each one and a half tone. The scales and patterns shown in this lesson are based on the half whole versions of the diminished scales. This is largely because dominant 7th chords are chords of. The motif in pattern 4 repeats every three notes at the descending interval of a minor. A scale is a stepwise arrangement of notespitches contained within an octave. Whole step and half step are best appreciated on the piano keyboard, shown above. All major scales follow a formula of half steps and whole steps. In classical theory in contrast to jazz theory, this scale is commonly called the octatonic scale or the octatonic collection, although there are a total of 42 nonenharmonically equivalent, nontranspositionally.
This is why we refer to it as a symmetrical scale, because the repeating interval pattern takes you back to the note that you started on. Because of their symetrical nature, there are only. This is not a very common scale, and it is primarily used in jazz music and work well together with alternate seventh chords. The diminished scale is a symmetrical scale, and so there are not 12 distinct pitch collections, as there are with the major scale.
However, the term most often refers to the symmetric scale composed of alternating whole and half steps, as shown at right. Learning freedom online jazz piano courses 18,394 views 17. Each black key can be labeled as a sharp or a flat. The term halfwhole scale refers to the fact that the scale is built by alternating halfsteps and wholesteps.
F dorian scale eb mixolydian scale b wholehalf diminished scale part 1. Starting on c, the scale moves up a halfstep, then a wholestep, then half, then whole, etc. Lets consider the c major scale you just learned to play. Rhythm note reading piano keys and finger numbers intervals, half, whole steps key signatures chords and scales vocabulary. Starting on any note, if you follow this pattern you will build a major scale in the notes key.
How to play over a diminished chord and half whole scale youtube. The tonic diminished scale is also called the wholehalf diminished scale and can be used over diminished 7th chords or with a whole host of polychords. The minor scales in musical notes are available in the member area. Notes on the left are halfstep approaches from below into the notes that define g7b9. Halfwhole diminished harmony for jazz guitar guitar world. This is really advantageous, because it opens a whole range of possibilities. The scales and patterns shown in this lesson are based on the halfwhole versions of the diminished scales. The halfwhole diminished scale is an 8 note symmetrical scale. A diatonic scale is a series of eight successive notes that are arranged in a systematic relationship of whole steps and half steps.
The diminished scale is built upon two diminished seven chords. In a natural pure minor scale the half steps occur between 23 and 56. Half whole diminished scales pdf the halfwhole diminished scale is an 8 note symmetrical scale. Half steps and whole steps can be further classified as diatonic or chromatic. The half stepwhole step diminished scale the halfwhole diminished scale is what we call a symmetrical scale, meaning it is based on a repeating pattern of specific intervals. It can be clearly seen that this scale makes use of the same notes of the relative major scale except for the arrangement of the whole steps and half steps. E halfwhole diminished scale play piano scales in all keys. Four of the starting notes will give you a halfwhole diminished scale corresponding to a 7b9 chord. To help you visualize how the diminished scale is constructed, here is a chart that lays out the interval. The scale in all keys can be downloaded as a pdffile.
Secrets of the diminished scale learn jazz standards. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. The scale alternates half and whole steps until the scale starts again. A whole tone scale type b whole tone scale type the other 10 whole tone scales have the same notes of these,but, of. Major scales and key signatures s o, now you can use the letters a through g to name notes on the treble and bass staff and accidentals to create major and minor seconds, aka, whole and half steps if you cant do this yet, stop here, go back to the previous chapters, and practice until you can. Musically, whole tones, or whole steps between the note letters, would limit the sounds were able to produce on our instruments. The half step and whole step intervals are identified in the first example shown to the right. Identify the tonic keynote by drawing a whole note in the final measure of each line.
Major scales are the building blocks for all of music. Notice that the intervals of the scale alternate between halfsteps and wholesteps. Relative keys have, as said above, the same notes and they. There are only 3 diminished pitch collections, and each diminished pitch. It is said that the root of music theory can be seen by playing the major scale in the key of c on the piano only the white keys from c to c and every major scale has a relative minor scale as seen when looking at the circle of fifths. Often times some one will say play whole notes, or more common on bass 18 notes. Diminished scale theory music theory online easy with. Basic music theory for adult beginner level piano players. What chords do the half whole and whole half scales work over.
If it helps, you can color the keys on the keyboard to. The diminished scale consists of alternating halfsteps and wholesteps. Barbara murphy university of tennessee school of music major and minor scales half and whole steps. In the case of this scale, a 12 step interval followed by a whole step interval. You can actually start with a wholestep or a halfstep, and the intervals alternate.
How to play over a diminished chord and half whole scale duration. The distance between the 3rd and 4th notes and the 7th and 8th notes are half steps. Diminished chords also have a symmetrical interval structure so cdim7, ebdim7, gbdim7 and adim7 all contain the same notes but are simply different inversions. So going one fret up or down the neck is a half step. The lesson could not be displayed because javascript is disabled. The distance between the c and the d keys in your c scale is a whole step, however, the distance between the e and the f keys in your c scale is a half step. The only difference between these two is that the 7th note from the harmonic minor is raised a half step semitone making an augmented second a whole and a half step wh between the 6th and 7th note. All major scales follow a formula of half steps and whole.
The 12 minor scales, however, come in 3 variations the harmonic minor scale uses the same keys as the parallel major scale same starting note, but major, but lowers the 3rd and the 6th the melodic minor scale uses the same keys as the parallel major scale, but lowers the 3rd when ascending going up and lowers. Lets take a look at the major pentatonic scale in all 12 keys. The distinction lies in the alphabet letter name of the notes. C wholehalf diminished scale on piano worship chords. The other four starting notes will give you a wholehalf diminished scale corresponding to a diminished 7th chord. The pentatonic scale, major and minor free piano lessons. I tend to relate this stuff back to the intervals derived from the major scale.
For example, in the picture, c and d are one whole step apart as noted by the w because there is a key in between them. We can simplify and summarize all 12 whole tone scales to just 2 scale types. Basic music theory for adult beginnerlevel piano players with emphasis on half steps and whole steps introduction music theory is a huge subject, one whose study can become quite complex. Major scales are built on a specific pattern of halfstep and wholestep intervals.
This is why we call it a halfwhole diminished scale, and it is also why we label this as a symmetrical scale, as the interval pattern of a halfstep followed by a wholestep repeats itself throughout the scale. The diminished scale is also referred to as the whole half diminished scale due to the fact it is constructed by every second whole and half steps notice. So both mode and scale are simply a sequence of 8 notes, with the intervals between two successive notes either a half step or whole step apart. The half diminished scale is a sevennote musical scale. The notes of the harmonic minor scale are almost the same as the notes from the natural minor scale. This means that the scales are constructed using a repeated pattern of half and whole steps. The pattern for a major scale is wholestep, wholestep, halfstep, wholestep, wholestep, wholestep, halfstep. Soloing over diminished chords can be tricky, but very pretty if you have some tools. Meter, scales, and key signatures because the white keys running from c to the next c an octave higher form a sequence of notes that have minor 2nds only between ef the 3rd and 4th notes and bc the 7th and 8th notes, musicians call that series of notes a c major scale. The octatonic scale is ascending in a sequence of a whole step and a half step alternatively.
Basic music theory for adult beginnerlevel piano players covers the subject selectively. Building piano scales major, minor, etc in all keys. Because the construction of these chords is symmetrical, there are only 3 diminished options. There are two types of diatonic scales major and minor scales. A whole tone scale type b whole tone scale type the other 10 whole. The diminished scale is also referred to as the wholehalf diminished scale due to the fact. Those are the two naturally occuring half steps in a major scale. Diminished scale is a symmetric scale created by the sequence. In jazz music however the term octatonic scale is related to the diminished scale since the scale is built out of two interlocking diminished seven chords which ill show you later. The wholehalf step formula is similar to the scale formulas only it uses whole and half steps to explain the construction of a scale. Because of that it is also commonly referred to as the wholehalf diminished scale. Half whole diminished scales pdf the half whole diminished scale is an 8 note symmetrical scale. The most common way youll use this sound in your solos is over dominant chords. Learn how to buildplay scales with piano for all lessons.
Wholehalf diminished scale play piano scales in all keys. When you play every black and white key on the piano in sequence, youre playing the chromatic scale. Applying this diminished structure over a v7 sound is an easy way to access the altered notes of a dominant chord in a. This type of scale has five notes per octave unlike a heptatonic scale which has seven notes. Diminished scales overview with pictures piano scales. The diminished scale is an eightnote scale that is built by picking a tonic note, and then alternating whole steps and half steps from that starting note. You will find free colorful, fun, and cute music theory worksheets on this page. The minor pentatonic uses the 1st, minor 3rd, 4th, 5th and minor 7th notes of a major scale or 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th of the natural minor scale. Amazing jazz improvisation exercise jazz piano concepts. Look at each notated scale below and mark the half steps with a slur. This ebook pdf contains 25 dominant diminished jazz guitar. A scale from the italian word for ladder is a series of notes from low to high or high to low following some pattern of whole steps and half steps. A major third is 4 halfsteps, a minor third is 3 halfsteps. Its played over altered dominant chords and has tensions b9.