The whole tone scale is a six-note scale built entirely from whole steps, with no semitone steps at all. C whole tone is C, D, E, F#, G#, A#, and because every note is two semitones from the next, the scale sounds floating and dreamlike, with no clear home note.
What is the whole tone scale?
The whole tone scale is a six-note scale built entirely from whole steps, with no semitone steps at all. C whole tone is C, D, E, F#, G#, A#, with each note two semitones above the one before it, and the pattern repeats after six notes, because six whole steps add up to twelve semitones, the octave. The scale has no leading note, no perfect 5th, and no clear home, which is why it sounds floating and dreamlike, like music heard underwater. The whole tone scale is the sound of Impressionist music, especially the music of Claude Debussy, who used it to create a floating, directionless atmosphere that was unlike anything in classical music before him. It appears in jazz too, over dominant 7th chords with a raised 5th, and in film scores, wherever a dreamlike or mysterious colour is wanted. The scale is symmetrical, which means it has only two distinct forms: the C whole tone scale, C, D, E, F#, G#, A#, and the C# whole tone scale, C#, D#, F, G, A, B, and every other whole tone scale is one of those two, starting from a different note.
How the whole tone scale works
The interval pattern of the whole tone scale is 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 semitones above the root, which is six whole steps in a row. Because every step is the same size, the scale has no semitone steps, and therefore no leading note, no perfect 4th and no perfect 5th. The notes that are missing are the ones that give other scales their sense of direction: without a semitone step, the ear cannot tell which note is the tonic, and the scale floats, with no home to return to. That is why the whole tone scale is used for atmosphere rather than for structure, and why it rarely appears as the main scale of a piece. The whole tone scale fits over a dominant 7th chord with a raised 5th, a 7#5 chord, because the scale contains the root, the major 3rd, the raised 5th, the minor 7th, the 9th and the raised 11th of the chord. In C, the C whole tone scale, C, D, E, F#, G#, A#, contains the notes of a C7#5 chord, C, E, G#, A#, plus the 9th, D, and the raised 11th, F#. The C7#5 guitar chord is the chord the scale belongs to, the C7#5 piano chord shows the same notes on piano, and the C major scale shows the diatonic scale it replaces.
Worked example — the two whole tone scales. There are only two distinct whole tone scales, because the scale is symmetrical: starting the pattern from C gives C, D, E, F#, G#, A#, and starting it from C# gives C#, D#, F, G, A, B. Every other whole tone scale is one of those two, starting from a different note: D whole tone is D, E, F#, G#, A#, C, which is the C whole tone scale starting on D, and E whole tone is E, F#, G#, A#, C, D, which is the same scale starting on E. The C major scale has seven notes and a clear home; the whole tone scale has six notes and no home, and the difference is the semitone steps that the whole tone scale leaves out.
How to practise the whole tone scale
Practise the whole tone scale as a colour, not as a home, so you learn to use it for atmosphere rather than for structure.
- Play the C whole tone scale ascending and descending on your instrument, and listen for the floating, directionless sound of the six equal steps.
- Play the C whole tone scale over a C7#5 chord, and notice how every note of the scale fits the chord, with no clashes and no pull home.
- Compare the whole tone scale with the C major scale, and name the notes that are missing: the perfect 4th and the perfect 5th, which are the notes that give the major scale its structure.
- On piano, play the whole tone scale with your right hand while your left hand plays the root, and listen for the scale floating above the bass without settling.
- Use the scale finder to find the whole tone scale from any root, and check that it contains only whole steps.
Common mistakes
- Using the whole tone scale as a home scale — The whole tone scale has no leading note and no perfect 5th, so it cannot be the home scale of a piece. It works as a colour over a dominant chord, but a song that stays in the whole tone scale will sound lost, not dreamy.
- Forgetting that there are only two whole tone scales — Because the scale is symmetrical, there are only two distinct whole tone scales, and every whole tone scale is one of them starting from a different note. If your whole tone scale has different notes from both of them, it is wrong.
- Confusing the whole tone scale with the major scale — The major scale has semitone steps and a clear home, while the whole tone scale has only whole steps and no home. The two scales sound completely different, and using one where the other belongs will clash.
Quick reference
This table lists the two distinct whole tone scales, with their notes and their starting points, so you can see that there are only two, not twelve. The C whole tone scale starts on the even pitch classes and the C# whole tone scale starts on the odd ones, and every whole tone scale you meet is one of these two, starting from a different note.
| Whole tone scale | Notes | Starts on |
|---|---|---|
| C whole tone | C – D – E – F# – G# – A# | C, D, E, F#, G#, A# |
| C# whole tone | C# – D# – F – G – A – B | C#, D#, F, G, A, B |
Work through the table by building each whole tone scale yourself, starting from the root and counting whole steps, and checking your answers against the rows. When you can build both without looking, play each one over the dominant 7th chord of its root, and listen for the floating, dreamlike sound that has no home to return to.
Frequently asked questions
What notes are in the C whole tone scale?
C, D, E, F#, G#, A#. They are six notes, each two semitones above the one before it, and the pattern repeats after six notes, because six whole steps add up to twelve semitones, the octave.
Why does the whole tone scale sound dreamlike?
Because it has no semitone steps, and therefore no leading note, no perfect 4th and no perfect 5th. Without those notes the ear cannot tell which note is the tonic, so the scale floats, with no home to return to, which sounds dreamlike and mysterious.
How many whole tone scales are there?
Only two distinct ones, because the scale is symmetrical: the C whole tone scale, C, D, E, F#, G#, A#, and the C# whole tone scale, C#, D#, F, G, A, B. Every other whole tone scale is one of those two, starting from a different note.
What chord does the whole tone scale fit over?
A dominant 7th chord with a raised 5th, a 7#5 chord. The C whole tone scale fits over C7#5, because it contains the root, the major 3rd, the raised 5th, the minor 7th, the 9th and the raised 11th of the chord.
Where is the whole tone scale used?
In Impressionist music, especially the music of Claude Debussy, in jazz over altered dominant chords, and in film scores, wherever a dreamlike, floating or mysterious colour is wanted. It is a colour, not a home, and it is used in passing rather than as a main scale.