ABSTRACT
The octatonic scale consists of alternating whole-steps and half-steps. There are three unique transpositions of this scale, which is important for the purposes of composition and analysis, but for the purposes of performance it is equally important to note that there are just two unique rotations of the octatonic collection. Example 13.2 shows that one rotation begins with a half-step and the other begins with a whole-step. In this example, C was chosen as a starting note for convenience, but any note in either of these collections could just as easily be heard or employed as tonic, and, like the whole-tone scale, octatonic scales can be used without implying any single note as tonic. The octatonic scale is also known as the diminished scale, or the half-whole diminished scale.
