Also written Auxiliary Diminished Blues, Half-Whole or Balinese
E♭ blues diminished runs E♭, F♭, G♭, G, B♭♭, B♭, C, D♭. Start in Box 1 to keep the root on string 3, fret 6.
E♭ blues diminished adds a ♭2 to the E♭ hungarian major scale, which supplies the other seven notes. The scale contains a tritone between E♭ and B♭♭, but no leading tone. Compare it with E♭ hungarian major.
E♭ blues diminished fits E♭ major and E♭ minor chords for blues lines. It also works over E diminished and E diminished 7th in passing. Use it in E♭ blues progressions when you need a darker, chromatic edge.
Learn Box 1 first: it keeps the E♭ root on string 3, fret 6. That position covers frets 0–3 and sets up Box 2.
E♭ 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 D string at fret 1.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 0, 2, 3 | F♭, G♭, G |
| 3 (A) | 0, 1, 3 | B♭♭, B♭, C |
| 2 (D) | 1, 2 | E♭, F♭ |
| 1 (G) | 0, 2, 3 | G, B♭♭, B♭ |
E♭ blues diminished in box 2 runs from fret 2 to fret 5, 11 notes across 4 strings, from G♭ on the E string at fret 2 up to C on the G string at fret 5. No root falls inside this box; it sits between two of them.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 2, 3, 5 | G♭, G, B♭♭ |
| 3 (A) | 3, 4 | C, D♭ |
| 2 (D) | 2, 4, 5 | F♭, G♭, G |
| 1 (G) | 2, 3, 5 | B♭♭, B♭, C |
E♭ blues diminished in box 3 runs from fret 5 to fret 8, 11 notes across 4 strings, from B♭♭ on the E string at fret 5 up to E♭ on the G string at fret 8. The root falls on the A string at fret 6 and the G string at fret 8.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 5, 6, 8 | B♭♭, B♭, C |
| 3 (A) | 6, 7 | E♭, F♭ |
| 2 (D) | 5, 7, 8 | G, B♭♭, B♭ |
| 1 (G) | 5, 6, 8 | C, D♭, E♭ |
E♭ blues diminished in box 4 runs from fret 8 to fret 11, 11 notes across 4 strings, from C on the E string at fret 8 up to G♭ on the G string at fret 11. The root falls on the E string at fret 11 and the G string at fret 8.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 8, 9, 11 | C, D♭, E♭ |
| 3 (A) | 9, 10 | G♭, G |
| 2 (D) | 8, 10, 11 | B♭, C, D♭ |
| 1 (G) | 8, 9, 11 | E♭, F♭, G♭ |
E♭ blues diminished in box 5 runs from fret 11 to fret 14, 11 notes across 4 strings, from E♭ on the E string at fret 11 up to B♭♭ on the G string at fret 14. The root falls on the E string at fret 11 and the D string at fret 13.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 11, 12, 14 | E♭, F♭, G♭ |
| 3 (A) | 12, 13 | B♭♭, B♭ |
| 2 (D) | 11, 13, 14 | D♭, E♭, F♭ |
| 1 (G) | 11, 12, 14 | G♭, G, B♭♭ |
Every chord here uses only notes from the scale. Tap one to open it.
E♭ blues diminished contains E♭, F♭, G♭, G, B♭♭, B♭, C, and D♭. The scale degrees are 1, ♭2, ♭3, 3, ♭5, 5, 6, and ♭7. It has eight notes total. It is also spelled D♯ in enharmonic notation for the same sounding root.
E♭ blues diminished fits E♭ major and E♭ minor chords. It also works over E diminished and E diminished 7th chords. Use it for blues lines with a chromatic twist.
E♭ blues diminished adds a ♭2 to E♭ hungarian major. E♭ hungarian major has seven notes: E♭, G♭, G, B♭♭, B♭, C, D♭. The blues diminished version includes F♭ as the extra note.
E♭ blues diminished contains a tritone between E♭ and B♭♭. That interval is a diminished fifth, six semitones above the root. It does not contain a leading tone.