B

Symmetric Scale

B Diminished (H-W)

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

Notes in B Diminished (H-W)

B1
C2
D3
D#4
F5
F#6
G#7
A8
B8

Chords in B Diminished (H-W)

8 diatonic chords
DegreeChordNotesQuality
iB°B – D – Fdiminished
iiC°C – D# – F#diminished
iiiD°D – F – G#diminished
ivD#°D# – F# – Adiminished
vF°F – G# – Bdiminished
viF#°F# – A – Cdiminished
viiG#°G# – B – Ddiminished
viiiA°A – C – D#diminished

Other Scales in B

MajorB, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#Natural MinorB, C#, D, E, F#, G, AHarmonic MinorB, C#, D, E, F#, G, A#Melodic MinorB, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A#DorianB, C#, D, E, F#, G#, APhrygianB, C, D, E, F#, G, ALydianB, C#, D#, F, F#, G#, A#MixolydianB, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, ALocrianB, C, D, E, F, G, AMajor PentatonicB, C#, D#, F#, G#Minor PentatonicB, D, E, F#, ABluesB, D, E, F, F#, AWhole ToneB, C#, D#, F, G, ADiminished (W-H)B, C#, D, E, F, G, G#, A#Phrygian DominantB, C, D#, E, F#, G, AHungarian MinorB, C#, D, F, F#, G, A#Lydian DominantB, C#, D#, F, F#, G#, A

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 B 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 B Diminished (H-W)

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

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

To develop your ear for the B 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.