Example 2: Octatonic Mode 2



The tetrachords shown above recur often within each mode. For example, the minor tetrachord appears on steps 2, 4, 6 and 8 of mode 2. The diminished tetrachord appears on steps 2, 4, 6 and 8 of mode 1. Bartok's Mikrokosmo 101, Diminished Fifths, is based on the polyphonic interplay of the two Mode 1 tetrachords at the tritone.

Debussy based the Nuages ostinato on the diminished tetrachord of Mode 2.

Mode 2, also called the "half-step diminished scale," is used in Jazz improvisation in association with diminished seventh chords.