E Half-Whole Diminished Scale

E Half-Whole Diminished Scale notes: E F G G# A# B C# D. Formula: 1 b2 b3 3 #4 5 6 b7. Chords that fit it: E, Em, E7, Em7, Edim, Edim7, Em7b5, E5.

The half-whole diminished scale alternates half and whole steps: 1 b2 b3 3 #4 5 6 b7. It fits dominant chords with b9 and #9, so it is a jazz and fusion staple over 7b9 chords. It is symmetric: the pattern repeats every three frets, so there are only three different ones.