The B Half-Whole Diminished Scale shown on a piano keyboard: B, C, D, D#, F, F#, G#, A, B.
The B Half-Whole Diminished scale contains eight notes: B, C, D, D♯, F, F♯, G♯, and A. It follows the whole-step / half-step pattern H-W-H-W-H-W-H-W.
B Half-Whole Diminished Scale Notes
Degree
Name
Note
Interval
1
Root
B
P1
♭2
Minor 2nd
C
m2
♭3
Minor 3rd
D
m3
3
Major 3rd
D♯
M3
♭5
Diminished 5th
F
d5
5
Perfect 5th
F♯
P5
6
Major 6th
G♯
M6
♭7
Minor 7th
A
m7
8
Octave
B
P8
Key Signature
The B Half-Whole Diminished Scale doesn’t line up with a single major or minor key, so it has no standard key signature. Its notes are written with accidentals as needed.
Accidentals
D♯F♯G♯
B Half-Whole Diminished Scale — Frequently Asked Questions
What are the notes of the B Half-Whole Diminished Scale on piano?
The B Half-Whole Diminished Scale uses the notes B – C – D – D♯ – F – F♯ – G♯ – A – B. Play them in order from the root up to the octave, hands separately first, then together.
What notes are in the B Half-Whole Diminished Scale?
The B Half-Whole Diminished Scale contains eight notes: B – C – D – D# – F – F# – G# – A. The notes table above shows each note with its scale degree and interval from the root.
How many sharps or flats does B Half-Whole Diminished have?
The B Half-Whole Diminished Scale doesn't correspond to a single major or minor key, so it has no standard key signature. Its notes are written with accidentals as needed: D♯, F♯, G♯.
What does the B Half-Whole Diminished Scale sound like?
The B Half-Whole Diminished Scale has a distinctive sound shaped by its specific interval pattern. Listen to the audio playback above to hear the character on every note.
Keep going with the Half-Whole Diminished scale — these pages cover the underlying theory, the connected reference material, and the practice tools that work with this scale.
The note names, intervals, fingering, and harmony on this scale page are grounded in the following sources. Public domain treatises and scores are linked to their full text; primary data reflects piano.org's own interval-derived dataset.
