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Scales on the Diminished Harmonica

The diminished harmonica is a retuned harmonica where every draw note is a whole step higher than its corresponding blow note, and adjacent notes are tuned a minor third apart. This creates some attractive features for the player:

  • A full chromatic scale can be played with blow notes, draw notes, half-step draw bends. Like any fully chromatic instrument, everything can be played on a single diminished harmonica.
  • Fingerings are the same in every octave of the harmonica.
  • Any lick or scale can be played in all 12 keys by learning only three patterns.
  • "Third position" (type III) blues and pentatonic scales (major and minor) are easily playable in all octaves with only one half step draw bend.
  • "Third position" (type III) blues and pentatonic scales, with only one half-step bend each, are easily playable in four keys - all on one diminished harmonica. A set of three diminished harmonicas covers third position blues and pentatonic scales in all keys. For example:
    1. on an A diminished harmonica the following scales can each be played with one half-step bend only:
    2. on an Ab diminished harmonica the following scales can each be played with one half-step bend only:
    3. on a G diminished harmonica the following scales can each be played with one half-step bend only:
  • Many altered scales from musics around the world are easily playable in all octaves with only one half step draw bend.
    1. on an A diminished harmonica the following scales can each be played with one half-step bend only:
    2. on an Ab diminished harmonica the following scales can each be played with one half-step bend only:
    3. on a G diminished harmonica the following scales can each be played with one half-step bend only: