E whole-tone scale
E whole-tone is E F♯ G♯ A♯ B♯ D. The whole-tone scale: six notes separated by whole steps, with no perfect fourth, no perfect fifth, and no leading tone. Floating and ambiguous.
- Formula
- 1 2 3 ♯4 ♯5 ♭7
- Steps
- W W W W W W
- Notes
- 6
Notes and degrees
The E whole-tone scale has six notes: E F♯ G♯ A♯ B♯ D. Each degree is named by its distance from the tonic, E.
| Degree | Note | Interval above E | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P1 | ||
| 2 | M2 | ||
| 3 | M3 | ||
| 4 | A4 | ||
| 5 | A5 | ||
| 6 | m7 |
On the piano
Every key of the scale is lit in its own colour. Click one to hear it.
On the guitar
Every E scale tone on the first twelve frets in standard tuning. The tonic is ringed. Click a dot to hear the note.
What it sounds like
The whole-tone scale uses only whole steps, so each neighboring pair of its six notes is two semitones apart. It has no half step, no leading tone, and no perfect fourth or fifth. Its augmented fourth and augmented fifth create tritone-based tension, and its symmetry means no note strongly suggests a home. The effect is floating, dreamlike, and ambiguous, which suits music that avoids a clear tonic. Each note is the same distance from its neighbors, so no degree outranks another.
Where you hear it
The whole-tone scale is associated with Impressionist music, especially the work of Claude Debussy, who used it for ambiguity and dreamlike color. Jazz players use it over augmented triads and over dominant seventh chords with a raised fifth. Film and game composers use it for unsettled or dreamlike scenes. Its symmetry means it does not define a key, so it works best as a passage of color. Its notes also suit the augmented chords found in that harmony.
How it is built
The whole-tone scale is symmetrical and has no parent mode, because its six notes do not form a rotation of a seven-note collection. Only two whole-tone collections exist in equal temperament, so every whole-tone scale is a transposition of one of them. On C, it is C D E F♯ G♯ B♭. Its augmented triads include C E G♯, and its dominant sevenths with raised fifths include C7♯5, built from C E G♯ B♭.
Scales with the same notes
These scales use the same six pitches as E whole-tone, starting from a different note.
Other E scales
- E major
- E natural minor
- E harmonic minor
- E melodic minor
- E Dorian
- E Phrygian
- E Lydian
- E Mixolydian
- E Locrian
- E major pentatonic
- E minor pentatonic
- E blues
- E diminished (whole–half)
- E diminished (half–whole)
- E Phrygian dominant
- E Lydian dominant
- E altered
- E double harmonic major
- E Hungarian minor
- E bebop dominant
How to practise it
Play the C whole-tone scale ascending and descending, then play it again from D♭ to hear the second whole-tone collection. Play augmented triads moving by whole steps, C E G♯ followed by D F♯ A♯, to hear how the scale's structure forms the chords. Improvise over a C7♯5 vamp using only whole-tone notes, aiming for the raised fifth as a target.
Further reading
- Chord-Scale Theory Explained: Which Scale Fits Which ChordJazz & Popular Harmony · 7 min
Questions
What are the notes of the E whole-tone scale?
The E whole-tone scale is E, F♯, G♯, A♯, B♯, D. Written ascending it returns to E an octave higher.
What is the formula for the E whole-tone scale?
The formula is 1 2 3 ♯4 ♯5 ♭7 measured from the major scale. As steps that is W, W, W, W, W, W (W is a whole step, H a half step).
What is the whole-tone scale?
The whole-tone scale has six notes, each a whole step apart. On C it is C D E F♯ G♯ B♭. Because the intervals are equal, the scale contains no half step and no perfect fourth or fifth. It sounds ambiguous, since no note strongly suggests a home.
Is the whole-tone scale a mode?
No. Modes are rotations of a seven-note scale, and the whole-tone scale has six notes built entirely from whole steps. Its symmetry means only two different whole-tone collections exist in twelve-tone equal temperament. Any starting pitch produces one of those two sets, so the scale is best learned as a pair of transpositions.
What chords go with the whole-tone scale?
The scale fits augmented triads and dominant seventh chords with a raised fifth. On C, the notes C E G♯ form an augmented triad, and C E G♯ B♭ is C seven sharp five. Both chords use only notes of the scale, which is why the whole-tone sound suits Impressionist and jazz harmony.