Stuart Smith
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The “diminished” scaleThe “diminished” (or “octatonic”) scale is often a colorful alternative to the major or minor scales used in the approach described above. This scale is based on the repeating pattern whole step-half step, whole step-half step, …etc.13 Like the diminished chord, the diminished scale can be transposed by half-step in either direction only twice. A third transposition simply reproduces the tones of the original. Here are the three diminished scales: 
The following example shows one way that diminished scales can be used to accompany diminished seventh and dominant seventh chords: 
In this example, the whole-step/half-step pattern begins on the root of the diminished seventh chord and on the third of the dominant seventh chord. These are merely reference points for the purposes of this example. In actual improvisation, one could of course begin a melodic line on any note of the diminished scale. The diminished scales can be combined with the major and minor scales used in the simplified approach described above to produce a more sophisticated sound. Download 1.17 Mb. Share with your friends:
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