Diminished Scale Piano Reference With Notes & Intervals
🎹 The octatonic scale, also known as the diminished scale, the whole-half scale or the symmetric diminished scale, is a symmetrical 8-note scale. The diminished scale consists of an alternating pattern of whole tones and half tones.
The scale is built upon two diminished 7th chords, similar to how the augmented scale is built upon two augmented triads.
Here you'll find an interactive piano reference for the octatonic scale with notes on the piano keyboard, intervals and scale formula.
You may also want to check out the half whole diminished scale, which is a similar scale that's instead built with alternating half tones and whole tones.
Diminished Scale Intervals
The intervals of the diminished scale are:
Diminished Scale Formula
The formula for the diminished scale is: W, h, W, h, W, h, W, h
W: Whole step, h: Half step (semitone)
Diminished Scales Note Chart
| C | ||
| C♯ | ||
| D | ||
| D♯ | ||
| E | ||
| F | ||
| F♯ | ||
| G | ||
| G♯ | ||
| A | ||
| A♯ | ||
| B |
And now here are interactive piano keyboard layouts, one for each key, where you can hear the diminished scales being played up and down:
C Diminished Scale
notes:
C♯ Diminished Scale
notes:
D Diminished Scale
notes:
D♯ Diminished Scale
notes:
E Diminished Scale
notes:
F Diminished Scale
notes:
F♯ Diminished Scale
notes:
G Diminished Scale
notes:
G♯ Diminished Scale
notes:
A Diminished Scale
notes:
A♯ Diminished Scale
notes:
B Diminished Scale
notes:
Diminished Scale Chords
Here's a list of chord types that fit the diminished scale:
References to major & minor scales:
C majorC♯ majorD♭ majorD majorE♭ majorE majorF majorF♯ majorG♭ majorG majorA♭ majorA majorB♭ majorB majorC♭ major
C minor C♯ minor D♭ minorD minorD♯ minorE♭ minorE minorF minorF♯ minorG minorG♯ minorA♭ minorA minorA♯ minorB♭ minorB minor
