STRINGSCALES

E half-diminished b4 Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F#, G, Ab, Bb, C, D, E at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

A string: Bb, C, D, E, F#, G, Ab at frets 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11

D string: D, E, F#, G, Ab, Bb, C, D at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12

G string: G, Ab, Bb, C, D, E, F#, G at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12

B string: C, D, E, F#, G, Ab, Bb at frets 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11

High E string: E, F#, G, Ab, Bb, C, D, E at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

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E 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°

Edim
F♯

II

A♭7no5/F#
G

biii

Gm
A♭

bIV+

A♭aug
B♭

bV+

B♭aug
C

bVI

Cmaj
D

bVII

Dmaj♭5

Same notes, different mode

E 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 b3G neapolitan majorAb leading whole toneBb lydian augmented dominantC lydian dominant b6D major locrian

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

tip
  • Nearly a cluster: with bIII (G) and b4 (Ab) adjacent, arpeggiate root, b5 (Bb), b7 (D) first and add the packed middle notes as passing color.
  • Over a m7b5 chord in dense modern-jazz writing, the b4 (Ab) acts as a blue third-below-the-third; resolve it down to bIII (G).
  • 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 E plays it directly.

How to play E half-diminished b4 on guitar

Root sounds open on the E pair, with the minor third off open G and the minor seventh off open D, so a tonic drone costs nothing. Another root waits two frets up the D string, which means low phrases sit inside the first few frets. Tonic chord is Edim and no degree here works as a functional dominant. Gb altered dominant double b3 takes over 2 semitones higher with no change of fingering, so shapes carry across. Fret 4 ends the opening shape.

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