C

Symmetric Scale

C Diminished (H-W)

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

Notes in C Diminished (H-W)

C1
C#2
D#3
E4
F#5
G6
A7
A#8
C8

Chords in C Diminished (H-W)

8 diatonic chords
DegreeChordNotesQuality
iC°C – D# – F#diminished
iiC#°C# – E – Gdiminished
iiiD#°D# – F# – Adiminished
ivE°E – G – A#diminished
vF#°F# – A – Cdiminished
viG°G – A# – C#diminished
viiA°A – C – D#diminished
viiiA#°A# – C# – Ediminished

Other Scales in C

MajorC, D, E, F, G, A, BNatural MinorC, D, D#, F, G, G#, A#Harmonic MinorC, D, D#, F, G, G#, BMelodic MinorC, D, D#, F, G, A, BDorianC, D, D#, F, G, A, A#PhrygianC, C#, D#, F, G, G#, A#LydianC, D, E, F#, G, A, BMixolydianC, D, E, F, G, A, A#LocrianC, C#, D#, F, F#, G#, A#Major PentatonicC, D, E, G, AMinor PentatonicC, D#, F, G, A#BluesC, D#, F, F#, G, A#Whole ToneC, D, E, F#, G#, A#Diminished (W-H)C, D, D#, F, F#, G#, A, BPhrygian DominantC, C#, E, F, G, G#, A#Hungarian MinorC, D, D#, F#, G, G#, BLydian DominantC, D, E, F#, G, A, 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 C 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 C Diminished (H-W)

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

The diatonic chords in C diminished (h-w) are C° (i), C#° (ii), D#° (iii), E° (iv), F#° (v), G° (vi), A° (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 C diminished (h-w) scale.

To develop your ear for the C 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.