Whole Tone Scale For Guitar Players
-- and Claude Debussy

The whole tone scale is a sound you've probably heard many times before. This advanced guitar lesson will show you how to play it and also how to use it on your guitar.

This scale is as simple as the name it goes by! It's a symmetrical pattern -- like the diminished scale -- except that it is built with intervals a whole step apart. This makes it unique in that it has 6 notes in total before repeating. Some call this a hexatonic scale.

note: The diminished scale has 8 notes before repeating.

Another interesting point about the whole tone scale is that all the triads built from it result in augmented triads. In fact, the entire scale can be constructed from the notes found in 2 augmented triads a whole step apart!

It can begin on any note, but we will use C as the starting point for our examples. Starting from C we get the following: C, D, E, F#, G#, A#

Notice that there is a major 3rd along with an altered 5th -- both flattened and raised. The 6th is also raised, but this is the same as a b7. Bingo! The scale is perfect for using to play over dom7b5 or augmented chords.

Other Uses…this scale has also been frequently used by composers for film and television to evoke a "dreamlike" feeling. This is because it doesn't sound like it has a tonal centre -- and that's also where you've probably heard the sound before. Try playing it to hear for yourself!

If you look at the 2 guitar scale diagrams below, you'll see it on the guitar fretboard. It begins on a C on string 5 at the 3rd fret -- but as you can see, there is more than one way to play a guitar scale :-)

Claude DeBussy: French composer Claude Debussy is widely recognized as being one of the 1st musicians to use the whole tone scale. He makes great use of it -- mostly in melodic fragments or triads -- in his work. Listening to his music is highly recommended, as it's completely brilliant! I'm absolutely in love with Clair de lune from Suite Bergamasque and the symphony La Mer. Check them out!

How To Practice The Whole Tone Scale

To be honest, since college I haven't made much use of the "hexatonic" scale. But this is because in the music I play there aren't many opportunities. I HAVE used it though. I've taught it to students, and used it on occasion in live performances.

it's all a matter of taste. You may find that you love the sound of this scale so much that you use it every chance you get! Either way, it's a very useful scale -- not only for guitar players -- but for composers. It may be just the sound you're looking for!

And if you play more modern styles of jazz, you will almost definitely need it! There will be many opportunities for you to apply it. So get cracking ;-)

• Record a jam track with either a dom7b5 or an augmented chord.
• Play along with one of the whole tone scale forms you are in the process of memorizing.
• As you jam, make note of any other pathways that reveal themselves.
• Make another jam track with a chord progression using the dom7b5 or augmented chords. A basic example is a C7b5 moving to an Fmaj7 chord. Practice moving from using the C whole tone scale to target the chord tones in the Fmajor7.
• Try composing a melody using this scale along with only augmented triads and a dom7b5 chord. You can resolve it to diatonic harmony if you wish.
• Look for opportunities to use it in the music you play!

Tip: Print out these free blank guitar fretboard sheets and draw a few of the fretboard pathways you discover. This will help much more than you think!

You'll need Adobe Reader (the latest version is recommended) installed on your computer in order to download these PDF files. You can get Adobe Reader here (a new window will open so you can download it without leaving this page).

If you want to open the file in your browser window, just click on the link. However, if you want to download the file to view later, then right-click on the link and choose "Save Target As" or "Save File As." Then select where you want to save the file on your hard drive.

Once you have saved the file, locate where you saved it, and double click to open.

In order to print, open the downloaded file, and select the print option from the menu.

Thanks for tuning in and tuning up to this advanced guitar lesson on the whole tone scale :-)

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