DIMINISHED SCALE PATTERNS
The diminished scale can be very useful. When applied to a dominant 7 it includes several nice extensions and chromatic notes: the b9, b10, #11 and 13 so can be used with a plain dominant 7 or one with those extensions. Although the diminished scale can obviously have any root note, there are only three sets of fingerings to learn. (See Scales for Improvisation in the Jazz section). Each diminished scale is based on one of the four notes of a diminished chord and the interval structure is Tone-Semitone-Tone-Semitone-Tone-Semitone-Tone-Semitone.Ideally you should think of the correct enharmonic spellings, which would vary depending on each dominant 7 chord, however while learning the basic diminished scales it’ easier to use whatever seems simplest. Here I have mostly followed the convention of sharps ascending and flats descending, but have used B instead of Cb.
Basic Diminished Scales:
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All the fingering exercises in the "Patterns & Exercises" sectionare available in PDF format. These contain expanded versions of the online exercises (many of them in all keys) and also many extra exercises. All for only £5. All proceeeds will be donated to charity. You will receive the PDF files via email.