D

Symmetric Scale

D Diminished (H-W)

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

Notes in D Diminished (H-W)

D1
D#2
F3
F#4
G#5
A6
B7
C8
D8

Chords in D Diminished (H-W)

8 diatonic chords
DegreeChordNotesQuality
iD°D – F – G#diminished
iiD#°D# – F# – Adiminished
iiiF°F – G# – Bdiminished
ivF#°F# – A – Cdiminished
vG#°G# – B – Ddiminished
viA°A – C – D#diminished
viiB°B – D – Fdiminished
viiiC°C – D# – F#diminished

Other Scales in D

MajorD, E, F#, G, A, B, C#Natural MinorD, E, F, G, A, A#, CHarmonic MinorD, E, F, G, A, A#, C#Melodic MinorD, E, F, G, A, B, C#DorianD, E, F, G, A, B, CPhrygianD, D#, F, G, A, A#, CLydianD, E, F#, G#, A, B, C#MixolydianD, E, F#, G, A, B, CLocrianD, D#, F, G, G#, A#, CMajor PentatonicD, E, F#, A, BMinor PentatonicD, F, G, A, CBluesD, F, G, G#, A, CWhole ToneD, E, F#, G#, A#, CDiminished (W-H)D, E, F, G, G#, A#, B, C#Phrygian DominantD, D#, F#, G, A, A#, CHungarian MinorD, E, F, G#, A, A#, C#Lydian DominantD, E, F#, G#, A, B, C

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 D 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 D Diminished (H-W)

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

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

To develop your ear for the D 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.