STRINGSCALES

D♭ half-diminished b4 Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: Fb, Gbb, Abb, Bbb, Cb, Db, Eb, Fb at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12

A string: Bbb, Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gbb, Abb, Bbb at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12

D string: Eb, Fb, Gbb, Abb, Bbb, Cb, Db at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11

G string: Abb, Bbb, Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gbb, Abb at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12

B string: Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gbb, Abb, Bbb, Cb at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12

High E string: Fb, Gbb, Abb, Bbb, Cb, Db, Eb, Fb at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12

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Db half-diminished b4

The half-diminished b4 scale, the sixth mode of the neapolitan major scale, takes the locrian #2 half-diminished sound and lowers the 4th as well. With the 3rd and 4th collapsed together it is nearly a cluster scale, keeping only the natural 2nd as breathing room. A specialist color for m7b5 chords in dense modern jazz writing.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

D♭

i°

D♭dim
E♭

II

G𝄫7no5/Eb
F♭

biii

F♭m
G𝄫

bIV+

G𝄫aug
A𝄫

bV+

A𝄫aug
B𝄫

bVI

B𝄫maj
C♭

bVII

C♭majb5

Same notes, different mode

Db half-diminished b4 uses the same notes as the scales below. Start from a different note and you get a new mode built on the very same note set.

Eb altered dominant double b3Fb neapolitan majorF leading whole toneG lydian augmented dominantA lydian dominant b6Cb major locrian

half diminished b4 in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Nearly a cluster: with bIII (E) and b4 (F) adjacent, arpeggiate root, b5 (G), b7 (B) first and add the packed middle notes as passing color.
  • Over a m7b5 chord in dense modern-jazz writing, the b4 (F) acts as a blue third-below-the-third; resolve it down to bIII (E).
  • Keep the natural 2nd (Eb) as your breathing room; it is the only bright interval in the scale.
  • It is the sixth mode of neapolitan major: the parent fingering a major 3rd below Db plays it directly.

How to play D♭ half-diminished b4 on guitar

Five open strings stay in the scale, the E pair sounding a minor third and open B the minor seventh, so drones survive even with 7 flats in the signature. Clamp a capo onto fret 1 and C fingering applies, which lets open shapes work unchanged. Tonic chord is Dbdim, and no degree in the set functions as a dominant. Eb altered dominant double b3 sits 2 semitones up on the same fingering, so the box is reusable. From fret 13 a new shape starts.

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