A

Symmetric Scale

A Diminished (H-W)

8-note alternating half-whole scale. Tense, jazzy, used over dominant and dim7 chords.

Notes in A Diminished (H-W)

A1
A#2
C3
C#4
D#5
E6
F#7
G8
A8

Chords in A Diminished (H-W)

8 diatonic chords
DegreeChordNotesQuality
iA°A – C – D#diminished
iiA#°A# – C# – Ediminished
iiiC°C – D# – F#diminished
ivC#°C# – E – Gdiminished
vD#°D# – F# – Adiminished
viE°E – G – A#diminished
viiF#°F# – A – Cdiminished
viiiG°G – A# – C#diminished

Other Scales in A

MajorA, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#Natural MinorA, B, C, D, E, F, GHarmonic MinorA, B, C, D, E, F, G#Melodic MinorA, B, C, D, E, F#, G#DorianA, B, C, D, E, F#, GPhrygianA, A#, C, D, E, F, GLydianA, B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#MixolydianA, B, C#, D, E, F#, GLocrianA, A#, C, D, D#, F, GMajor PentatonicA, B, C#, E, F#Minor PentatonicA, C, D, E, GBluesA, C, D, D#, E, GWhole ToneA, B, C#, D#, F, GDiminished (W-H)A, B, C, D, D#, F, F#, G#Phrygian DominantA, A#, C#, D, E, F, GHungarian MinorA, B, C, D#, E, F, G#Lydian DominantA, B, C#, D#, E, F#, G

Diminished (H-W) in All 12 Keys

CC C# D# E F# G A A#C#D♭Db D E F G Ab Bb BDD D# F F# G# A B CD#E♭Eb E Gb G A Bb C DbEE F G G# A# B C# DFF Gb Ab A B C D EbF#G♭F# G A A# C C# D# EGG G# A# B C# D E FG#A♭Ab A B C D Eb F GbAA A# C C# D# E F# GA#B♭Bb B Db D E F G AbBB C D D# F F# G# A

Practice by Ear

Scale RecognitionIdentify the Diminished (H-W) scale by ear →Play A Diminished (H-W)Hear the scale and practice recognising it →Chord Recognition TrainerIdentify the chords above by ear →Progression TrainerIdentify common progressions in this key →

Chords in A Diminished (H-W)

The A diminished (h-w) scale contains the notes A, A#, C, C#, D#, E, F#, G. 8-note alternating half-whole scale. Tense, jazzy, used over dominant and dim7 chords.

The diatonic chords in A diminished (h-w) are A° (i), A#° (ii), C° (iii), C#° (iv), D#° (v), E° (vi), F#° (vii), G° (viii). These are the chords you can use when writing or improvising in this key — every note in each chord belongs to the A diminished (h-w) scale.

To develop your ear for the A diminished (h-w) sound, use the scale and chord trainers linked above. Being able to recognise these sounds by ear — not just read them from a chart — is what separates musicians who truly hear music from those who only read it.