Symmetric Scales

4 modes

Parent Formula

1 2 3 ♯4 ♯5 ♭7

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Overview

Symmetric scales are built from repeating interval patterns, giving them a quality of ambiguity and suspended tonality that is unlike any other scale family. The whole tone scale divides the octave into six equal whole steps, creating a dreamlike, floating sound with no clear resolution. The diminished scales (half-whole and whole-half) alternate between half and whole steps, producing eight-note scales rich in tritones and diminished chord sounds. The augmented scale alternates minor thirds and half steps. These scales lack a traditional tonal center, which makes them powerful tools for creating tension, mystery, and harmonic ambiguity.

Why It Matters

Symmetric scales solve specific harmonic problems that diatonic and melodic minor scales cannot address. The half-whole diminished scale is THE standard choice for dominant 7th chords with ♭9 and ♯9 alterations. you will encounter this constantly in jazz. The whole-half diminished scale is the go-to for diminished 7th chords. The whole tone scale handles augmented dominant chords (7♯5) perfectly. Because of their repeating patterns, these scales have a huge practical advantage: any pattern you learn can be transposed in equal divisions of the octave. A lick in the diminished scale works at three other transposition levels automatically. For jazz guitarists, the diminished scales are essential; the whole tone and augmented scales are important colors to have available.

Sound Overview

Symmetric scales share a quality of tonal ambiguity and suspended gravity. The whole tone scale sounds dreamy, weightless, and slightly disorienting. like a musical fog where direction disappears. The half-whole diminished scale is tense, angular, and full of chromatic bite. perfect for aggressive dominant sounds in bebop and post-bop. The whole-half diminished scale has a dark, mysterious quality suited to diminished chords and eerie textures. The augmented scale sounds glassy and otherworldly, with its alternating major and minor thirds creating a kaleidoscopic effect. All symmetric scales share an 'outside' quality that contrasts dramatically with diatonic sounds.

Modes

All 4 scales in the Symmetric Scales family.

Whole ToneImportant

1 2 3 ♯4 ♯5 ♭7

Dreamlike, suspended, and tonally weightless. The whole tone scale has no half steps, no leading tones, and no sense of gravity — it floats in a shimmering haze where every note is equidistant from its neighbors. It sounds like a musical question mark that never resolves.

♯4♯5

Half-Whole DiminishedImportant

1 ♭2 ♭3 3 ♯4 5 6 ♭7

Tense, angular, and bristling with chromatic energy. The half-whole diminished scale is the sound of dominant chords at their most aggressive and altered — full of ♭9s, ♯9s, and tritones that create an almost unbearable tension demanding resolution. It is the sound of bebop at its most adventurous.

♭2♭33♯4

Whole-Half DiminishedImportant

1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 6 7

Dark, mysterious, and symmetrically beautiful. The whole-half diminished scale has a haunting, noir-film quality — every diminished arpeggio is embedded within it, and the alternating intervals create a sound that seems to spiral inward. It is the mirror image of the half-whole diminished, but built on a diminished chord rather than a dominant chord.

♭56

Augmented ScaleAdvanced

1 ♭3 3 5 ♯5 7

Glassy, otherworldly, and kaleidoscopic. The augmented scale alternates minor thirds and half steps, creating a hexatonic sound that seems to shimmer between major and minor, between consonance and dissonance. It has an almost crystalline quality — beautiful but alien, like music from a parallel dimension.

♭3♯5