STRINGSCALES

E♭ half-diminished b4 Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F, Gb, Abb, Bbb, Cb, Db, Eb at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11

A string: Bbb, Cb, Db, Eb, F, Gb, Abb, Bbb at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12

D string: Eb, F, Gb, Abb, Bbb, Cb, Db at frets 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11

G string: Abb, Bbb, Cb, Db, Eb, F, Gb, Abb at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12

B string: Cb, Db, Eb, F, Gb, Abb, Bbb, Cb at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12

High E string: F, Gb, Abb, Bbb, Cb, Db, Eb at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11

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Eb 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:

E♭

i°

E♭dim
F

II

A𝄫7no5/F
G♭

biii

G♭m
A𝄫

bIV+

A𝄫aug
B𝄫

bV+

B𝄫aug
C♭

bVI

C♭maj
D♭

bVII

D♭majb5

Same notes, different mode

Eb 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.

F altered dominant double b3Gb neapolitan majorG leading whole toneA lydian augmented dominantCb lydian dominant b6Db major locrian

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

tip
  • Nearly a cluster: with bIII (Gb) and b4 (G) adjacent, arpeggiate root, b5 (A), b7 (Db) first and add the packed middle notes as passing color.
  • Over a m7b5 chord in dense modern-jazz writing, the b4 (G) acts as a blue third-below-the-third; resolve it down to bIII (Gb).
  • Keep the natural 2nd (F) 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 Eb plays it directly.

How to play E♭ half-diminished b4 on guitar

Three open strings belong here: A on the diminished fifth, G on the diminished fourth, B on a minor sixth, so all three can ring against fretted notes. D string root at fret 1 keeps a line near the nut, which means no reach is needed to start low. Capo 1 recasts the key as D fingering. F altered dominant double b3 uses this exact box, so a single fingering covers two tonics. Fret 15 hands over to the second box.

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