Also written Auxiliary Diminished Blues, Half-Whole or Balinese
B♭ blues diminished runs B♭, C♭, D♭, D, F♭, F, G, A♭. Practise Box 2 to keep the root on string 4, fret 6.
B♭ blues diminished adds a ♭2 to the B♭ hungarian major scale, which supplies the other seven notes. The scale contains a tritone between B♭ and F♭, but no leading tone. Compare it with B♭ hungarian major.
B♭ blues diminished fits B♭ major and B♭ minor chords for blues lines. It also works over B diminished and B diminished 7th in passing. Use it in B♭ blues progressions when you need a darker, chromatic edge.
Learn Box 2 first: it keeps the B♭ root on string 4, fret 6 and string 1, fret 3. That position covers frets 3–6 and sets up Box 3.
B♭ blues diminished in box 1 runs from fret 0 to fret 3, 11 notes across 4 strings, from F♭ on the E string at fret 0 up to B♭ on the G string at fret 3. The root falls on the A string at fret 1 and the G string at fret 3.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 0, 1, 3 | F♭, F, G |
| 3 (A) | 1, 2 | B♭, C♭ |
| 2 (D) | 0, 2, 3 | D, F♭, F |
| 1 (G) | 0, 1, 3 | G, A♭, B♭ |
B♭ blues diminished in box 2 runs from fret 3 to fret 6, 11 notes across 4 strings, from G on the E string at fret 3 up to D♭ on the G string at fret 6. The root falls on the E string at fret 6 and the G string at fret 3.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 3, 4, 6 | G, A♭, B♭ |
| 3 (A) | 4, 5 | D♭, D |
| 2 (D) | 3, 5, 6 | F, G, A♭ |
| 1 (G) | 3, 4, 6 | B♭, C♭, D♭ |
B♭ blues diminished in box 3 runs from fret 6 to fret 9, 11 notes across 4 strings, from B♭ on the E string at fret 6 up to F♭ on the G string at fret 9. The root falls on the E string at fret 6 and the D string at fret 8.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 6, 7, 9 | B♭, C♭, D♭ |
| 3 (A) | 7, 8 | F♭, F |
| 2 (D) | 6, 8, 9 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 1 (G) | 6, 7, 9 | D♭, D, F♭ |
B♭ blues diminished in box 4 runs from fret 9 to fret 12, 11 notes across 4 strings, from D♭ on the E string at fret 9 up to G on the G string at fret 12. No root falls inside this box; it sits between two of them.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 9, 10, 12 | D♭, D, F♭ |
| 3 (A) | 10, 11 | G, A♭ |
| 2 (D) | 9, 11, 12 | C♭, D♭, D |
| 1 (G) | 9, 10, 12 | F♭, F, G |
Every chord here uses only notes from the scale. Tap one to open it.
B♭ blues diminished contains B♭, C♭, D♭, D, F♭, F, G, and A♭. The scale degrees are 1, ♭2, ♭3, 3, ♭5, 5, 6, and ♭7. It has eight notes total. It is also spelled A♯ in enharmonic notation for the same sounding root.
B♭ blues diminished fits B♭ major and B♭ minor chords. It also works over B diminished and B diminished 7th chords. Use it for blues lines with a chromatic twist.
B♭ blues diminished adds a ♭2 to B♭ hungarian major. B♭ hungarian major has seven notes: B♭, D♭, D, F♭, F, G, A♭. The blues diminished version includes C♭ as the extra note.
B♭ blues diminished contains a tritone between B♭ and F♭. That interval is a diminished fifth, six semitones above the root. It does not contain a leading tone.