Whole Half Diminished Scale

The Whole Half Diminished scale is a 8-note scale in the symmetric family. Unstable and eerie — alternating whole and half steps, with the b3, b5, and 6 spelling a diminished seventh chord in every direction. Ominous, symmetrical, and unresolved. Heard in: Diminished seventh chords in classical and jazz, horror and suspense scores, Bartok and Stravinsky, and neoclassical metal. Like every scale, it is defined by the semitone distances between its degrees, so the same pattern produces the scale from any starting note. Pick a tonic below to see the notes it contains.