G Minor Six Diminished Guitar Scale

G Minor Six Diminished Scale — Notes and Intervals

The G Minor Six Diminished scale is a sophisticated jazz scale popularized by the Barry Harris method. On Guitar, its notes are G, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, E, F#. It is the secret to professional voice leading in bebop, allowing for smooth, elegant movements between minor chords and their related tensions. Commonly used in Jazz, Bebop, Swing. Notable players include Barry Harris, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell. Use over m6 chords and their related dim7 chords. The scale alternates between chord tones and diminished passing tones, creating seamless bebop voice leading.

Notes: G, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, E, F#

Intervals: 1P, 2M, 3m, 4P, 5P, 6m, 6M, 7M

Degrees: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7 8

Formula: W-H-W-W-H-H-W-H

Number of notes: 8

Musical Character

The 'Barry Harris scale' — an 8-note system that provides the secret to professional voice leading in bebop. It allows for smooth, elegant movements between minor chords and their related diminished tensions.

Genres & Notable Artists

Genres: Jazz, Bebop, Swing

Notable players: Barry Harris, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell

How to Use the G Minor Six Diminished Scale

Use over m6 chords and their related dim7 chords. The scale alternates between chord tones and diminished passing tones, creating seamless bebop voice leading.

Origin & Background

Systematized by jazz educator Barry Harris as the foundation of his bebop harmony method. Provides the theoretical framework for understanding Charlie Parker's voice leading.

How to Play G Minor Six Diminished on Guitar

Place your index finger at fret 3 on the 6th (low E) to find your G root note. Because this scale has 8 notes, four-notes-per-string stretches may be necessary. Start with a single position and expand gradually. Keep your thumb centered behind the neck for reach.

The G Minor Six Diminished scale contains both sharps and flats (1 sharp, 2 flats), which is common in altered and exotic scales. This scale does not follow a traditional major or minor key signature, so reading from sheet music may require accidentals.

Practice Routine

Begin by playing the G Minor Six Diminished scale ascending and descending at 100 BPM using a metronome, one note per beat. Once comfortable, practice in thirds (G-Bb, A-C) to build intervallic familiarity. Spend 5 minutes daily on this pattern before increasing tempo by 10 BPM.

Experiment with simple two-chord vamps rooted on G to let the characteristic intervals of the Minor Six Diminished scale come through clearly. This scale is especially effective in jazz contexts.

Guitar Tips

Use hybrid picking (pick + fingers) when playing the G Minor Six Diminished scale on guitar to access wider intervals and string skips that a pick alone cannot handle efficiently. Aim for a sophisticated quality in your phrasing to match the natural character of this scale.

Related Scales

• G Bebop minor
• G Dorian
• G Diminished
• G Melodic minor

The G Minor Six Diminished scale contains 8 notes (G, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, E, F#). Use the interactive fretboard above to explore this scale on Guitar with different tunings and fret ranges.

CAGED Positions & Patterns for G Minor Six Diminished

The G Minor Six Diminished scale can be played in 5 CAGED positions across the fretboard, each based on an open chord shape (C, A, G, E, D). As a 8-note scale, it also lends itself to 3-notes-per-string (3NPS) patterns that facilitate legato playing and diagonal shifting. Use the pattern selector above to isolate each position.

Explore G Minor Six Diminished Further

• Harmonize the G Minor Six Diminished scale — triads & 7th chords
• Browse chord progressions
• G Minor Six Diminished on Ukulele
• G Minor Six Diminished on Bass
• G Minor Six Diminished on Piano

Explore G Minor Six Diminished in Other Tunings

• G Minor Six Diminished in Drop D (E-B-G-D-A-D)
• G Minor Six Diminished in DADGAD (D-A-G-D-A-D)
• G Minor Six Diminished in Open G (D-B-G-D-G-D)
• G Minor Six Diminished in Baritone (B Standard) (B-F#-D-A-E-B)
• G Minor Six Diminished in 7-string (E-B-G-D-A-E-B)
• G Minor Six Diminished in 8-string (E-B-G-D-A-E-B-F#)
• G Minor Six Diminished in Drop C (D-A-F-C-G-C)
• G Minor Six Diminished in Drop B (C#-G#-E-B-F#-B)
• G Minor Six Diminished in Open D (D-A-F#-D-A-D)
• G Minor Six Diminished in Half Step Down (Eb-Bb-Gb-Db-Ab-Eb)
• G Minor Six Diminished in Open E (E-B-G#-E-B-E)
• G Minor Six Diminished in Open A (E-C#-A-E-A-E)
• G Minor Six Diminished in Double Drop D (D-B-G-D-A-D)
• G Minor Six Diminished in Open C (E-C-G-C-G-C)

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