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D minor six diminished Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F, G, A, Bb, B, C#, D, E at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12

A string: A, Bb, B, C#, D, E, F, G, A at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

D string: D, E, F, G, A, Bb, B, C#, D at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12

G string: G, A, Bb, B, C#, D, E, F, G at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12

B string: B, C#, D, E, F, G, A, Bb, B at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12

High E string: E, F, G, A, Bb, B, C#, D, E at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12

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D minor six diminished

The minor six diminished scale is Barry Harris's minor sixth diminished scale: a minor 6th chord and a diminished 7th chord interleaved, eight notes alternating chord and tension. Run it and every other note forms the m6 chord, the engine of his harmonic system. It turns a static minor chord into continuous internal motion.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

D

I

E

II

F

bIII

G

IV

A

V

B♭

bVI

B

VI

C♯

VII

minor six diminished in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • This is Barry Harris's minor sixth diminished scale: alternate the Dm6 chord tones with the diminished tones as you climb, chord-tone on the beat.
  • Harmonize every scale step as either the m6 chord or the diminished 7th; that alternation is instant movement over a static minor chord.
  • Use both 6ths deliberately: natural 6th (B) belongs to the m6 sound, flat 6th (Bb) to the diminished layer passing between V and VI.
  • Over a minor ii-V-i in D minor, this single scale supplies voice-led chords for the whole bar of tonic minor.

How to play D minor six diminished on guitar

Open D is the tonic and every other open string lands in the key too, so the guitar tunes itself to this scale. Open A gives the fifth, open G the fourth, open B the sixth. Both open E strings sound the second, which means a full open-position run needs almost nothing from the fretting hand. Fretted roots wait at 10 and 5. Fret 14 ends the box, so the shift comes late here.

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