Whole Tone Scale

The whole tone scale is built entirely from whole steps — six notes evenly spaced. Because every interval is equal, the scale has no gravitational centre: no leading tone, no half-step pull in any direction. The sound is floating, ambiguous, and dreamlike. Debussy used it extensively to create his characteristic impressionistic haze. Jazz musicians use it over augmented dominant chords and over dominant 7th chords where a ♯11 and ♯5 colour is wanted.

Construction

C whole tone scale:
C — D — E — F# — G# — A# — (C)
W   W   W   W    W    W

Six notes, all a whole step apart.
Formula: 1 — 2 — 3 — #4 — #5 — ♭7

Note: #4 = ♭5 (tritone), #5 = ♭6 (augmented fifth / minor sixth)
The scale contains no perfect 4th, no perfect 5th, no minor 3rd, no major 7th.

Only Two Whole Tone Scales

Because the scale divides the octave into six equal whole steps, there are only two distinct whole tone scales — any starting note belongs to one of them:

Scale	Notes	Starting notes included
Scale 1	C D E F# G# A#	C, D, E, F#, G#, A# (= B♭)
Scale 2	C# D# F G A B	C#, D#, F, G, A, B

Every pitch belongs to exactly one of these two groups. Playing a "D whole tone scale" or "G# whole tone scale" gives you the same six notes as scale 1 — just starting from a different point in the cycle.

Sound and Character

Ambiguous, floating, unresolved. Without any half steps, there is no tension-resolution pull anywhere in the scale — no leading tone, no subdominant craving resolution. The augmented sound comes through clearly: the #4 (tritone above the root) and the #5 give it a lifted, unmoored quality. Extended whole-tone lines create a sense of suspension that can feel magical, eerie, or surreal depending on context. It doesn't "want" to go anywhere — it just floats.

Over Dominant 7th Chords (Augmented)

G7 chord tones: G B D F
G whole tone:   G A B C# D# F

Chord tones present:
  G = root ✓
  B = major 3rd ✓
  F = minor 7th ✓ (= ♭7)
  D = 5th... wait: D# is in the scale, not D

Available tensions:
  A  = 9th (major 9th)
  C# = #11 (tritone against root — augmented 4th)
  D# = #5 / ♭13 (augmented 5th)

G whole tone works best over G7#5 (augmented dominant) or G7#11.
It does NOT contain the natural 5th (D) — only D#.
Use it when you want a rootless, floating dominant sound.

Chord type	Whole tone use	Notes
G7#5 (augmented dominant)	Excellent — scale contains G7#5 chord tones	Root, M3, #5, ♭7 all present
G7 (unaltered)	Works with care — ♮5 (D) is missing	Use for brief passages, not extended lines
G7♭13	Works — ♭13 = D# = #5 which is in the scale	Same as #5 enharmonically

Debussy and the Whole Tone Scale

Debussy's piano preludes are the most famous whole-tone music. "Voiles" ("Sails") is built almost entirely on the scale — the effect is exactly like its name, a billowing sail with no fixed direction. "La cathédrale engloutie" uses whole tone passages for the submerged cathedral's shimmering, waterlogged sound. For Debussy, the whole tone scale was a tool to escape the tension-resolution logic of classical tonal harmony.

In Jazz

Musician	How used
Thelonious Monk	Brief whole tone passages to create harmonic ambiguity before resolution
Herbie Hancock	Extended whole tone lines over augmented chords in post-bop contexts
John Coltrane	Used whole tone as one of several symmetrical scales in "sheets of sound" period
McCoy Tyner	Whole tone in quartal voicings for floating texture

Symmetry and Practical Limits

The scale's symmetry is both its strength and weakness. Every pattern sounds the same no matter where you start, which makes licks easy to apply but limits variety. Long passages in whole tone become monotonous quickly — the ear craves a half step to anchor itself. Effective use is usually short bursts (a measure or two) before returning to a diatonic or more asymmetric scale. Think of it as a momentary colour rather than a sustained tonal environment.

References

Levine — The Jazz Theory Book
Liebman — A Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony and Melody
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