The scales and patterns shown in this lesson are based on the halfwhole versions of the diminished scales. For instance, pattern 1 will correspond to a c chord. All voicings on the guitar of the diminished seventh chord. The diminished scale scale is a symmetrical scale with a repeating pattern of whole steps and half steps. A brief look at the use of diminished chords and scales within several different genres. Half diminished guitar scale patterns chart, key of b.
The enharmonic spellings are sometimes chosen for ease of reading rather than technical accuracy for example, gbdim7 is spelled gb, a, c, eb, instead of the technically correct but harder to read gb, bbb, dbb, fbb. The diminished scale is useful for diminished chords, and also sometimes dominant chords. Check out my free video lessons on my free lessons page. The sexy scale melodic minor scale explained bass guitar daric bennetts bass lessons duration. The major scale is the foundation of all western harmony and is obviously very important to study in both theory and practice.
In this bass bit i will walk you through another sequence of seconds in this case major and minor seconds alternate. This book has been divided into individual sections. In the pdf below you will find suggested positions for the 12 whole step diminished scale. Hi im robben ford and welcome to this diminished lines edition of solo revolution. Here are some free pdfs used to supplement my free video lessons. So just so you understand the first move you make is a half step. In this lesson we are going to explore some of the amazingweird stuff you can do with a diminished scale. Your plan should cover several days and allow for varied work on each. In these diminished scale diagrams, any of the white circles can be considered to be the root tonic note of the scale.
Diminished lines well slow things down in this performance study, working with a slow blues shuffle in g here. Learning how to play chord melody requires a stepbystep plan and thats where the easy. Building scales on the guitar if the only scale that we had to compose and improvise with were the chromatic scale then music would quickly become very boring and would sound generally chaotic. For instance a diminished scale interval map would be w h w h w h w h. Aug 10, 2012 more commonly used by jazz players, the halfwhole diminished scale and diminished 7th arpeggio are right at home in a blues setting, and well be discussing ways to use them over a 12bar blues. The dominant diminished scale can be applied to the v7 chord in a 251 chord progression, as well as the vi7b9 chord in any tune you are improvising on, which you will often see in a rhythm changes and jazz blues progression. The dominant diminished scale for guitar free download as pdf file. Because of the symmetry of the diminished scale there are only 2 different patterns. Use my search bar to find exactly what youre looking for. Barry harriss sixth diminished scale cochrane music. Basically im taking notes from the ab whole half diminished scale using the 3 concept. It produces a very cool jazz sound by a quite unexpected means. Mixolydian mode, besides having the dorkiest sounding name in music theory, is really the dominant scale. Its both major and minor which is very characteristic of the blues.
These caged scale patterns help you learn the diminished scale as it relates to standard caged chords. Its easy to upset the sound of these chords in the music if not addressed properly. The diminished scale is one of the most useful and versatile tools for jazz improvisers. Guitar scales guitar scales regardless what instrument you play, learning to play scales is a rite of passage. Using it over a dominant 7 chord will highlight the notes of the chord root, 3rd, 5th and minor 7th. Half diminished guitar scale patterns chart, key of b by. Then pick one of the 10 diminished patterns and take it into the practice room for a week.
This is really advantageous, because it opens a whole range of possibilities. The diminished scale is used to solo over diminished 7 dim7 chords. A proven plan for financial fitness, shut up and listen. In the case of this scale, a 12 step interval followed by a whole step interval. The dominant diminished scale for guitar scale music chord. Free guitar scales pdf 84 scale and arpeggios chart. Also included are arpeggios found within the scale. A great place to start for beginners or anyone new to scale shapes is the good ol open position. In order to cycle through as many areas of scale practice as possible and not get bored it is important to have a plan. So a cmin7 is c eb g and bb notice the third note is flat. Diminished scales and chords are a very important subject. The diminished scale is made up of a series of half steps and whole steps.
If you do the math thats 24 places you can use the diminished scale 8. Lesson material from video lesson part 1 on 12 whole diminished scale. They are designated by a circle with a line cutting it in half o. The information here is presented as a reference, if you want to crack into using it then i recommend my. I remember the end of my freshman year at indiana university, hanging out with some of my friends and watching videos on youtube about the diminished scale. The one we already showed article diminished scale and the dominant diminished. Diminished patterns jazz piano diminished scale patterns. She also touches on diminished scales and their relationship with diminished and dominant chords. Aug 10, 2018 this arrangement of notes, which fall in minor third intervals, represents a diminished seven arpeggio, which consists of four different notes. By the end of this lesson, youll understand how to build the pentatonic scale in any key, and layer it over chords and other scales a useful. Guitar arpeggio handbook bonus lessons arpeggiobased guitar licks that you can apply in the. This is not a very common scale, and it is primarily used in jazz music and work well together with alternate seventh chords. Diminished scale the diminished scale is an eight note scale.
Dominant diminished scales diminished blues overview. Scale diminished 1,2,b3,4,b5,b6,6,7 fullth pattern root note d guitar tuning. They each have a distinct pattern that can be played anywhere on the neck of the guitar. This was one of the first plans drawn up in the range, and is in. Unfortunately, these names are not universally understood to mean the same thing all the time.
Diminished scales on guitar halfwhole and wholehalf. Once you have them down, use a drum machine to make up licks and get it sounding musical. The beginners guide to jazz guitar jazz guitar online. So we have structured this technique book to have the 10 lesson plan program right.
The diminished triad is what naturally occurs on the 7th degree of the major scale. Make sure that you download the accompanying pdf which will help you practice the scale slowly until you get it under your fingers and in your ears. At some point in history it was realized that by selecting only a few notes from the chromatic scale and limiting yourself to those when composing you. Link to guitar pro file of tab for the guitar locrian mode scale. For some reason, the diminished scale sparked an interest in me. Jan 23, 20 the half diminished scale guitar patterns. They are distinguished by the fact that the tonic root or 1 st note of. Thats a root, minor 3rd, and flat or diminished 5th, three minor 3rds in a. Oneoctave diminished 7th bass chord patterns studybass. Actually they are basically the same scale, but depending on which one you intend to play. Start by visualizing and ingraining the minor third relationship of the diminished chord tones in every key there are only 3. Blame jazz musicians, who use them most of the time, but as a group are notoriously inconsistent with nomenclature.
Half whole step diminished scale positions and arpeggios part 2 lesson resources. This scale is great for using in finger exercises because it is symetrical. How robben incorporates diminished lines in his solos is the topic of discussion in countless articles and workshops. Half diminished scales and chords have a flatted third scale degree, a flatted fifth scale degree, and and a flatted seventh scale degree. The alhijaz scale is a dominant scale that originates in saudi arabia, but is also known as the spanish gypsy scale, the jewish scale, or the phrygian dominant scale in jazz this scale is the 5th inversion of the harmonic minor scale. By stringing them together you add some unusual outside sounds to your improv. The half whole diminished scale tutorial infinite guitar. Notice that these scales are very nearly the same scale. Jane miller takes a look at diminished chords in this lesson. The diminished scale, also known as the whole half scale, is an eight note scale with a numeric formula of 12. It is a symmetrical scale in that it follows a distinct pattern of steps, those being whole step, half step in a repeating pattern, not to be confused with the dominant diminished scale which follows a half step, whole step pattern. Practice daily, working towards memorization in 3 keys. They are distinguished by the fact that the tonic root or 1 st note of the scale starts on the 6 th, 5 th or 4 th string.
Basic structure of the scale and its relation to the fully diminished seventh chord. This is the foundation to becoming a learned musician, rather than merely a recreational player. Secrets of the diminished scale learn jazz standards. The dominant diminished scale is used to solo over dominant 7th chords, or more specifically 7b9 chords. Unlike the modes, the diminished scale is built from a continuously symmetrical intervallic sequence as each fournote group progresses. The half stepwhole step diminished scale the halfwhole diminished scale is what we call a symmetrical scale, meaning it is based on a repeating pattern of specific intervals. Diminished chord patterns studybass fundamentals two. Chaurette, december 2012 there are 5 different ways to play a major scale on the guitar. The chord symbols for a diminished 7th chord are pretty simple. What i mean by that is that, for example, the e diminished scale also contains the notes of the g diminished scale, the b flat diminished scale and the c sharp or d flat diminished scale.
The fretboard is shown with the lowest pitch string at the bottom and the highest pitch string at the top unless youve tuned your instrument differently. For each scale, you can learn a number of different shapes and patterns, depending on the zone of the fretboard youre working on. Diminished scale is a symmetric scale created by the sequence. I feel like my playing is at its best when i have some sort of daily technique routine. Diminished lines online guitar lesson by robben ford from solo revolution. Take a look at the notes then play the tab or standard notation exercises. This month well be talking about the half whole diminished scale. You only need three diminished scales to cover all 15 keys. A diminished 7th chord built on the root note c would be notated c o 7, or cdim7. Free printable guitar scales 14 most commonly used scales. With the combination of the key, tempo, chord progressions and scales suggestions to use, you will be making solos in no time. Bluesy diminished guitar licks lesson an easy pentatonic.
The diminished scale is also referred to as the wholehalf diminished scale due to the fact it is constructed by every second whole and half steps notice. This domdim scale is nothing more than the drawing of the diminished scale that we showed but starting in the second degree instead of the first one. If i start with a whole step, this is called the diminished scale. For more information on diminished scales, see this page. The book that accompanies this and our other guitar scale lessons. The ebook contains the most important scales for beginners, such as major and minor, but shows also more advanced. Diminished triads, half diminished, and diminished 7th, which is also called a fully diminished chord. In all of the graphics below ive included the red root notes as well as other neighboring scale tones for better fretboard visualization. Diminished harmony works as a base or a spine to all harmonic. Diminished lines hi, im robben ford, and welcome to this diminished lines edition of solo revolution. Ive been exploring this scale a little further as of late and have found a few new ideas i hadnt considered before. If you alternate major and minor seconds and start with a major second it is called the diminished scale. This scale is especially useful for dealing with diminished chords. A diminished scale is a 8 tone scale that has intervals that alternate between wholesteps and halfsteps.
The diminished chords repeat themselves the notes of the chord being. This is most commonly referred to as the wholehalf diminished scale. This video demonstrates the same diminished lick over 8 different chords. In the same way that we studied in the diminished chord, diminished scale repeats itself each one and a half tone. A diminished chord is built similarly to a minor chord, except for its fifth. Link to page dedicated to the guitar locrian mode scale.
This video is part 2 of a 2part series which demonstrates the concepts behind 5 useful diminished licks. Listen for the diminished scale ideas weve talked about, and take note. In order to understand diminished seventh chords, lets have a look to other chord types. These are not lessons, but supplements to my lessons. Alex skolnick jazz lesson the diminished scale youtube. Jun 22, 2019 this guitar lesson explains how to use diminished scales in improvisation, and includes an example guitar solo plus a backing track so you can solo with diminished scales yourself. Many authors strongly say that there are two diminished scales.
To develop technique and ear training while learning basic patterns for improvisation timeline. Show me chords that sound good with an a diminished half whole scale. The half whole diminished scale guitar lesson hello again. The note upon which a chord is based, no matter its inversion. The use of the flatted fifth and the emotional intensity of the diminished scale sounds like the blues to me. The diminished scale is one of the defining sounds of jazz.
Dominant diminished scales diminished blues the dominant diminished scale consists of eight notes, and therefore belongs to the category of octatonic scales. The diminished scale for me has always had a direct correlation to the blues. Diminished chords, like major and minor chords, occur naturally in every key, and each key has only one diminished chord. Bluesy diminished guitar licks lesson an easy pentatonic escape plan. The symbol for a diminished triad was a degree symbol o. This means that for example an a diminished scale contains the same notes as a c diminished scale, an e flat diminished scale, and a g flat diminished scale. Halfdiminished scales are the same as a major scale 12 step above.
In this lesson rich explores the four major triads found in the diminished scale. Scale diagrams can also be labeled with either letters or scale degrees. Free guitar plan download by jaguitars john anthony. This pdf method for guitar contains 40 ii v i jazz guitar lines with tab. The diminished scale is different from the dominant diminished scale, which alternates half and whole steps and is used to solo over dominant 7b9 chords when first exploring diminished scales on. Each pdf file is a formatted high resolution file that prints out great. Yet, as much as its discussed and analyzed by others, the answer remains somewhat elusive. Mar 23, 2017 in this episode of eclecticity, alex skolnick explores some cool licks using the diminished scale.
Perfect to print or keep handy in digital form for reading and quick reference. Exploring the diminished scale with alex skolnick guitar world. The diminished scale can be divided into two modes called fully. Diminished scale on one page diminished mi3 patterns. This form of the diminished scale is generally referred to as the halfwhole diminished scale. Barry harriss sixth diminished scale heres a great excerpt from a barry harris workshop where he introduces an interesting diminished concept, which he jokingly calls his personal scale.
Masterclass for diminished scale soloing approaches on guitar. Diminishedtype chords dont occur very often, but when they do, you need to really know what youre doing. It is not practical to learn two different fingerings for the scale. It is a diatonic mode, the church calls it locrian mode. The formula is half tone, whole tone throughout the scale, hence the reason it is sometimes called the half.
This ebook pdf with audio files contains 25 dominant diminished jazz guitar patterns using the halfwhole diminished scale and diminished 7th arpeggios. It has been covered on ljs before, but i want to try to offer an additional perspective on how to think about and use this scale you might already know about the diminished scale, but a lot of jazz musicians are familiar with the diminished sound and yet do not tap into the full potential of this unique. This means that the scales are constructed using a repeated pattern of half and whole steps. The phrygian dominant scale is a common scale in jazz and is used to play over dominant chords that resolve to a minor chord. We are going to talk about two diminished scale patterns that have whole and whole half. The right way to use the diminished scale learn jazz. This scale specifically corresponds with a 7b9 or b9 dominant chord. This guitar lesson explains how to use diminished scales in improvisation, and includes an example guitar solo plus a backing track so you can solo with diminished scales yourself. These ideas are demonstrated in licks that can be adapted to your playing. Dec 17, 20 the diminished scale is a scale made of a succession of half steps and full steps. It is also a socalled symmetrical scale since the intervals are consistent. But rememberyou dont have to do everything at once. It is a symmetrical scale in that it follows a distinct pattern, constructed from a repeated sequence of intervals major second, minor second.
Building scales on the guitar global guitar network. The diminished scale is an eightnote entity, as shown in figure 2. In this 5minute masterclass were going to take a look into the diminished chord and scale. Diminished scale chart click here for a free printable pdf file of this. Heres a free guitar scales pdf ebook 22 pages with plenty of scales and arpeggios patterns.
Thats why robben wanted to focus on this one topic here in the diminished lines edition of his solo revolution series. You can find the first video and a pdf of the sheet music at our secrets of the diminished scale. See all formats and editions hide other formats and editions. They are symmetric in nature, so they have actually more than one beginning. The minor 7th chord is built by taking a minor triad and adding a minor seventh.
Get your free instant download of the pdf version of this guide now. These guitar fretboard diagrams show all 5 caged system patterns boxes of the major blues scale in the key of c. The diminished scale, for me, has always had a direct correlation to the blues. The diminished scale is built upon two diminished seven chords. Rich also explains how they are symmetrical and lay on the guitar for ease of playing. The diminished scale is an important scale used in jazz but can also be used in blues. Link to free printable guitar scales pdf file with all 5 positions of the guitar locrian mode scale. The simple set neck design is very effective, think les paul junior for sound quality. Now in the key of c, a dominant 7th chord or c7 is built by taking a major triad and adding a minor seventh. The diminished scale is different from the dominant diminished scale, which alternates half and whole steps and is used to solo over dominant 7b9 chords when first exploring diminished scales on guitar, it is easy to confuse these two scales.
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