Whole-Tone Scale

[mahayana]

This is one of the jazz scales that has a simple form to memorize, so it makes a great picking exercise, but honestly I've never figured out how to use it in any song.

My book says "the whole-tone scale has a perfectly symmetrical formula, so practice considering each and every scale tone as the root."
------------------------------------------------3--5--7--5
T---------------------------------------4--6---------------
--------------------------------4--6-----------------------
A-------------------3--5--7-------------------------------
------------4--6-------------------------------------------
B-3--5--7-------------------------------------------------

---3--------------------------------------------------------
T------6--4------------------------------------------------
---------------6--4----------------------------------------
A----------------------7--5--3----------------------------
-----------------------------------6--4--------------------
B------------------------------------------7--5--3--------

[jazzalta]

I use whole tone licks for things like augmented chords. It gets old real quick so I just use partial licks in passing.

[kawe]

Thought as a chord it would be:

7/b5(9/b13) or 7/#5(9/#11)

[mahayana]

Riffing off this scale is a sure way to get other musicians playing with you to say "stop that!" I can imagine progressions that would fit, but only in the category of experimental music.

As a learning tool, this scale does make you think about the rules of melody and harmony. Actually, it contains all the notes of the augmented 7 chord, plus the 9th and sharped 11th.

And it's part of a more useful scale, the Altered Scale, made by combining the first half of the diminished scale with the second half of the whole-tone scale (one half-step above), which works against dominant 7th chords containing flat5, sharp 5, flat9, sharp 9, and/or sharp 11.

Clear as mud, huh?

[Jaml]

Larry Coryell is fond of using this scale.
To get an ear for it, listen to impressionistic classical composers like Debussy and Ravel who use it a lot.

It's also good to practice stretched fingerings. Play it with three notes per string, using different combinations of the left hand fingers [first, third and pinky, second, third and pinky, first, second and pinky, first, second and third etc., etc.,]; then go on to four notes per string using all four fingers etc.,

[tomtowle]

Sometimes a wholetone scale, (one or the other) , might be worked into a progression. I use a descending WT on Have You Met Miss Jones in the B section. The modulations seem to jump in major 3rds, Bb, Gb, D, Gb so I somehow managed to fit D,C,Bb,Ab,Gb,E,D over that bridgy thing. I like to think that if the feel is of atonal or spacious, like Giant Steps, there is more of a chance that WT will work.

Also, I recall that a 7b5 chord with raised 11th pretty much screams WT fragment here and there?

[mahayana]

Thanks for the suggestions, Tom. I'll try it on those two.

By the way, nice site you have there. I listened to a couple of your original music clips. Are you working on a jazz CD?

Also, welcome to JGF!

[Ken]

I find that a whole tone scale, like a diminished, pretty much throws the concept of tonal center right out the window. That is to say that there really isn't an obvious resolution of the dissonances created therein. As such it's a great scale to use on just about any turnaround.

[jazzalta]

I sometimes use the following triplets or variation say over an A augmented or any A dominant chord. Played fast enough it provides great tension.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------6-------------4-----------6-------------8------------------------
-----6-------------4-----------6-------------8----------------------------
--7------------5-----------7-------------9--------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[dkaplowitz]

Someone who's great to listen to for the whole tone is Thelonious Monk. He used it all the time.

Don Mock published a good book/cd that can be had for around $10. called "Guitar Secrets: Symmetrical Scales Revealed (Dimished & Whole-Tone)". I think buy.com has it the cheapest. He gives a bunch of useful examples and ideas about how/where to use both of these cool scales.

[Professor]

ken said:

I find that a whole tone scale, like a diminished, pretty much throws the concept of tonal center right out the window. That is to say that there really isn't an obvious resolution of the dissonances created therein.

Exactly. A whole tone "scale" is a pair of overlapping augmented triads. It is not tonal, and is more correctly called a "collection" than a scale. There are 2 whole tone collections: WT0 and WT1. The WT0 collection includes C, which is pitch integer 0 in atonal theory. The WT1 collection includes C#; pitch 2.

[jazhombie]

pat metheny uses this scale fluently... i luv his lines., ;-)