A♭ diminished (whole–half)

A♭1B♭2C♭♭3D♭4E♭♭♭5F♭♭6F6G7

Eight notes alternating whole step and half step. Symmetrical, so it repeats every minor third.

The same sounds spelled from the other side are G♯ diminished (whole–half).

on guitar on ukulele

Written out

Fig. 2 · Ab diminished (whole–half), ascending

Every accidental is written in, rather than left to a key signature, so the letters can be read one at a time.

The step pattern

A♭WB♭HC♭WD♭HE♭♭WF♭HFWGHA♭

What is true of it

A♭ diminished (whole–half) is A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭♭, F♭, F and G, and back to A♭.

Its steps are W – H – W – H – W – H – W – H, where W is a whole step and H a half.

Written correctly it needs 7 alterations, E♭♭ among them. That is what the letters force, and it is also why nobody writes music in this key: the same notes spelled from the other side are easier to read.

Chords made only of these notes

D♭major D♭mminor D♭dimdiminished D♭7dominant seventh D♭m7minor seventh D♭m7♭5half-diminished seventh Fdimdiminished Gmajor

Found by testing every chord in the catalogue against these 8 sounds, not chosen.

Other scales on A♭

A♭ whole tonesymmetric A♭ diminished (half–whole)symmetric A♭ majormajor A♭ natural minorminor A♭ harmonic minorminor

C dim W-H C♯ dim W-H D♭ dim W-H D dim W-H D♯ dim W-H E♭ dim W-H E dim W-H F dim W-H all 374