C Whole tone Scale
C Whole tone contains 6 notes: C, D, E, G♭, A♭, B♭. It has 3 flats: G♭, A♭, B♭. The step pattern is W–W–W–W–W–W.
The whole tone scale divides the octave into 6 equal whole steps. Its perfectly even structure creates a dreamlike, floating quality with no tonal center or resolution.
The formula is 1, 2, 3, #4, #5, b7. Because every interval is identical (2 semitones), there are no leading tones, no tension-resolution pairs, and no "home." Only 2 distinct whole tone scales exist in all of music — any note within the scale can function as the root. It pairs naturally with augmented triads and dominant 7#5 chords. Debussy used it extensively to dissolve tonal gravity.
Fretboard patterns are completely uniform — you can move any shape or lick up or down by two frets and remain in the same scale. Exploit this symmetry with cross-picking, string skipping, and intervallic jumps. The visual regularity makes it one of the easiest symmetric scales to memorize.
- Voiles - Claude Debussy
- You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
- Four in One - Thelonious Monk