Octatonic scale

The diminished scale or diminished scale is the most common oktatonische scale in music. It consists of eight tones, the distance between two tones is alternately a whole tone and a semitone. Diminished scales are often used in jazz. They have a Tritonusgehalt of 4 and a bottom width of 11

Because of the uniformly changing distance of the individual scales tones of this type of scale is also called alternating Achtstufigkeit. It has two forms: one that starts with a whole step ( whole tone - semitone the conductor), and one that begins with a half-step ( semitone - whole tone the ladder ). The name comes from the reduced to the fact that the Tonvorrat the alternating Achtstufigkeit consists of two diminished sevenths, which differ by a major second from each other. This approach has also the alpha chord.

Limited transposition options

For reasons of symmetry are there in the same stage mood only three different transposition possibilities; the alternating Achtstufigkeit is therefore also the second of Messiaen modes. Each four reduced keys share the same notes; they start doing ( in parentheses) only at different starting points within the scale.

Whole tone - semitone - conductors:

• Of the reduced (S, G, B decreased): In, Eb, E, G flat, G, A, B, C, The

• D decreased ( F, As, H decreases ): D, E, F, G, As, B, H, Des, D

• It decreases ( F #, A, C decreases ): There, F, G flat, As, A, H, C, D, Es

These are identical with the following half-tone whole-tone ladders:

• There, E, F #, G, A, B, C, Db, It
• Cis, D, E, F, G, As, B, H, C sharp
• D, Eb, F, F #, G #, A, H, C, D