Whole-Tone Scale

The whole-tone scale has six notes, and every one of them is a whole step from the next. There are no half steps, so nothing pulls toward a home note: the sound floats, blurry and dreamlike, like a dream sequence in an old film. Jazz players use it over dominant chords with a raised 5th (7#5, 9#5), where it adds tension that begs to resolve.

Because every step is the same size, the scale is symmetric. Move any fingering up two frets and you get the same six notes back. That means there are only two whole-tone scales in all of music, and one small shape covers the whole neck.

This chapter uses A whole-tone (A B C# D# F G):

1. Formula, patterns and sound: the formula, the pattern and the same shape two frets up, where it fits.
2. Practice exercises: the pattern in 16ths, groups of three, major 3rds and a cell that climbs the neck two frets at a time.
3. Soloing: an A7#5 to Dm vamp and two licks that build tension and resolve it.