E

Symmetric Scale

E Diminished (H-W)

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

Notes in E Diminished (H-W)

E1
F2
G3
G#4
A#5
B6
C#7
D8
E8

Chords in E Diminished (H-W)

8 diatonic chords
DegreeChordNotesQuality
iE°E – G – A#diminished
iiF°F – G# – Bdiminished
iiiG°G – A# – C#diminished
ivG#°G# – B – Ddiminished
vA#°A# – C# – Ediminished
viB°B – D – Fdiminished
viiC#°C# – E – Gdiminished
viiiD°D – F – G#diminished

Other Scales in E

MajorE, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#Natural MinorE, F#, G, A, B, C, DHarmonic MinorE, F#, G, A, B, C, D#Melodic MinorE, F#, G, A, B, C#, D#DorianE, F#, G, A, B, C#, DPhrygianE, F, G, A, B, C, DLydianE, F#, G#, A#, B, C#, D#MixolydianE, F#, G#, A, B, C#, DLocrianE, F, G, A, A#, C, DMajor PentatonicE, F#, G#, B, C#Minor PentatonicE, G, A, B, DBluesE, G, A, A#, B, DWhole ToneE, F#, G#, A#, C, DDiminished (W-H)E, F#, G, A, A#, C, C#, D#Phrygian DominantE, F, G#, A, B, C, DHungarian MinorE, F#, G, A#, B, C, D#Lydian DominantE, F#, G#, A#, B, C#, D

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 E 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 E Diminished (H-W)

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

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

To develop your ear for the E 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.