Editing Jazz scale (section)

==Diminished scale==
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2023}}
{{Main|Octatonic scale}}{{Image frame|content=<score sound="1">
{
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c' {
  \clef treble \key c \major \time 8/4
  es4 f fis gis a b c d es2
} }
</score>

<score sound="1">
{
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c' {
  \clef treble \key c \major \time 8/4
  d4 e f g gis ais b cis d2
} }
</score>

<score sound="1">
{
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c' {
  \clef treble \key c \major \time 8/4
  cis4 dis e fis g a bes c cis2
} }
</score>|width=300|caption=The three octatonic scales}}
Sometimes called the ''octatonic scale'' because it contains eight tones, the diminished scale is composed of a series of alternating [[Semitone|half]] and [[Whole step|whole steps]]. There are two types of diminished scales, one starts with a half step and the other starts with a whole step. The two scales are [[Mode (music)|modes]] of one another.

Because of the repetition of the interval pattern after only two notes, each note in the scale can be the [[Root (scale)|root]] in another symmetric diminished scale. For example, the C diminished scale of the half-step-first type, has the same notes as the half-step-first E{{music|flat}} diminished scale as well as the whole-step-first D{{music|flat}} diminished scale. All three are composed of the same eight pitches: C–D{{music|flat}}–E{{music|flat}}–E{{music|natural}}–F{{music|sharp}}–G–A–B{{music|flat}}–C.

Because of the [[Symmetric scale|symmetry]] of the diminished scale, there are only three distinct diminished scales (shown to the right). The others are all modes of these three.