Whole Tone Scale

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The whole tone scale, as its name suggests, is constructed entirely of whole steps. It contains only six distinct pitches. The seventh degree is enharmonic with the root of the scale. Since the pattern of whole steps repeats at each of the degrees of the scale, a whole tone scale built on any degree of a given whole scale will be identical to the original:

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Since there are six such repeat points, there are 12/6 = 2 distinct whole tone scales. If you play one whole tone scale, the other one is formed by playing the notes in the "cracks" between the notes in the original scale:

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Note that the sixth degree of the scale is enharmonic with a minor seventh:

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Considered this way, the whole tone scale generates a dominant seventh chord with flat and sharp fifths:

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This chord might be notated 7b5 or 7#5. It is sometimes notated as 7aug or 7+, since the underlying triad is an augmented triad:

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The whole tone scale is the natural choice for this chord.

Here is an example of a repeating pattern that exploits the symmetry of the whole tone scale:

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Note that each repetition of the basic pattern starts on a different degree of the whole tone scale, but because the scale is symmetric, the repetition is perfect. Contrast this with a repeating pattern built on a non-symmetric scale such as the major scale:

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Here, the intervals in the pattern differ between repetitions to keep the line diatonic.

Copyright 2000 Outside Shore Music
Authored by Marc Sabatella

Whole Tone Scale