In The Woodshed
The Diminished scale is an interesting sound that provides a different sonic experience to the more typical modes. Its symmetrical nature lends itself to fusion music like that of Allan Holdsworth and progressive metal players such as Fredrik Thordendal and Jeff Loomis. The latter two use the scale as a more ethereal alternative to Aeolian mode when playing over single-note riffs.
The scale is sometimes called Whole-Half scale, or Octatonic scale. Whole-Half is a useful name as it spells out the construction of intervals; start from
