**Note from the editor** This post was updated 30/10/2020. You'll just have to trust me! Join 20,000 guitarists and get the latest jazz guitar tutorials delivered to your inbox. It is great to use over dominant #5 chords as long as you understand the notes you will get: 9th, #11, #5. G Whole-tone scale . As such it is symmetric by its repeating interval (the whole step) and multiples of it (major third, tritone). In a whole-tone scale, all music notes are separated by 1 whole step (tone ), and all note has the same importance the same function, so there is no tonic.Below is an example of a whole-tone scale: The whole-tone scale is one of the modes of limited transposition, because there is only transposition of this mode. Take a look at your guitar and give yourself a little bit of a music theory reminder; each fret is a semitone away from the other. F Whole-tone scale . Another player to consistently use diminished patterns in creative ways was the great Kenny Kirkland. An easy way to think of this is by using our existing knowledge of the melodic minor scale. G Whole-tone scale . The suspended second, sharped fifth chord is built from the 1, 2, #5 from the major scale. These are the notes that give the whole tone scale its unique, "dreamlike" sound. So,  you would play the G H/W diminished scale when the chart explicitly says G7b9, G7#9, G13b9 etc, OR if you just want to imply that kind of sound on any G7 chord. C Whole-tone scale . Pretty cool, right? A: Much of what goes into deciding what scale to use over any given chord is all about the context (what chords are surrounding it, how is it functioning harmonically, etc.) Notice the Wholetone scale is the same up as it is down (a kind of scalae palindrome), while the Major scale is not. , Last but not least, we've got the altered scale! The whole tone scale is unique in that it only has six notes. We’ll cover the basics with you and take you through an actual jazz standard showing you how to play over it! Notice the first half of the scale is diminished and the second half is whole-tone. So, what this means in practical terms is that the G whole tone scale will work over chords that use those notes as extensions: such as G9, G7#5, G7b5, etc. This post will answer both of those questions, and more! With all that said, you're probably wondering what the proper fingerings are for the whole scale on guitar. Try applying the C and D whole tone scales over both the C7#5 and D7#5 chords in the following progression: For example: in the Am7 | G7 | C progression, we can play the hexatonic scale of G on top of G7. I never thought of it in terms of half-step approach notes. Try applying the C and D whole tone scales over both the C7#5 and D7#5 chords in the following progression: If you're looking for some real life examples of the whole tone scale in use, I recommend checking out this video of Thelonious Monk, who often uses it in stride piano-style descending runs. Starting from the note G (the root of our G7 chord), this gives us: A 6 note scale, or a hexatonic scale . The whole tone scale is a symmetrical scale which means the intervals that make up the scale have a pattern that repeats. For today, we're just going to focus on the half-whole diminished scale because, like the other scales on this list, it works really well over a G7 chord. One again, we can see a clear picture that the whole tone contains these notes and thus would be an excellent choice to use … There are 6 notes in the whole tone scale and each is separated by a whole tone, hence the name. F Whole-tone scale . All you have to do is think of the melodic minor scale that's one semitone above the root of the chord you're soloing over. Whole-tone scale, all keys. So this means that the scale will work on any "Galt" chord, plus G7b9, G7#9, G7b9b5, and so on. or a jazz minor? F-sharp Whole-tone scale . You can play the whole-tone scale on any chord with a major third—a major triad, dominant-seventh chord, major-seventh chord, etc. (Once you've gotten comfortable with using the scales over this chord, then try using it over the V chord in other keys!). Is it correct to think that the whole-half scale follows the same concept, except it applies to approaching the dim7 chord tones from a whole step below?---M-A's Comment: Absolutely. It is not for nothing that it is called “Whole Tone Scale”, is it? Your comment comment will be manually validate. So, the whole tone scale can be played over a dominant 7 th or 9 th chord with a sharp five and sharp eleven. Take a look at your guitar and give yourself a little bit of a music theory reminder; each fret is a semitone away from the other. The scale was used as a comic device by W. A. Mozart in the sextet A Musical Joke (1787), and it is encountered from time to time in romantic music. Pieces that use the whole tone scale? Master the three variations of the diminished scale (C, C#, D) Explore scale pattern exercises (use Herbie’s lines as a starting point) Apply this scale to V7 sounds in your solos; V. Kenny Kirkland and the diminished sound. Then, we're going to play that scale but start on a G instead of the usual Ab, which gives us: The notes that give this scale its unique sound are: b9, #9, b5 and #5. If we analyze the scale degrees of each of these notes we end up with this: There a couple things to notice here! Q: So, do you play whole tone scales over the ?5, and altered scales over the dominant chords. It’s the completely opposite of a chromatic scale– which is made up entirely of half step intervals (semitones). Email (optional) (needed if you want to be inform of a reply): Image/photo (optional) (JPG, JPEG, PNG ou GIF) (image concerning your comment): https://musicterms.artopium.com/w/Wholetonescale.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_tone_scale. And vice versa! In addition, you can identify the whole-tone scale by eye because it only has 6 different scale degrees, versus 7 in a major or minor scale. This guide will teach you the very basics of jazz improv covering subjects such as outlining the changes, hitting the right notes, and most importantly making music. Creating Melodic Lines from Scales and Arpeggios, Introduction to Bird Blues for Jazz Guitar, The Definitive Jazz Guitar Chord Chart for Beginners, The Beginner's Guide to Jazz Chord Progressions, The Ultimate Guide to Jazz Guitar Chords: Learn Comping, A Gentle Introduction to Guitar Chord Theory, Jazz Blues Songs List: Top 50 Blues Heads. A whole tone is the same as two steps on the keyboard – a half tone is consequently one step. Scales - Whole Tone, Diminished, and Altered. The H/W diminished scale is an 8-note scale - here it is spelled out starting from our root note, G: The notes that give this scale its unique sound are b9, #9, b5 and 13. The Whole Tone Scale (a.k.a. So, what this means in practical terms is that the G whole tone scale will work over chords that use those notes as extensions: such as G9, G7#5, G7b5, etc. Its use was once frowned upon by strict classical composers, but the scale’s distinctive sound can now be heard fairly regularly in classical, film and jazz music. The whole tone scale is most usually used over the "V" chord with a lowered or raised 5th (I use it all the time on the G7#5 chord in "Stella By Starlight" for example). These are the notes that give the whole tone scale its unique, "dreamlike" sound. Choose the whole tone scale starting on the root or third of the chord. How to use the Whole Tone Scale. That could be a lesson all on its own! by: Anonymous . What we're going to do is play the 7th mode of the melodic minor scale. To make sure you fully understand this concept, ask yourself: what scale do you get if you play the Db7 altered scale over G7?*. Notice how the Whole Tone scale helps us to link all these ideas together in a way that sounds logical. The intervals between the notes of a Major Scale are = T T st T T T st; The intervals between the notes of a Wholetone Scale are = T T T T T T; Where T = Tone; and st = semitone . Many jazz musicians prefer to use either the altered scale (7th mode melodic minor) or the half/whole diminished scale (alternating half steps and whole steps. There are only 2 possible whole note scale combinations: The whole tone scale produces a tonally ambiguous sound that when played alone can create an ‘eerie’ or ‘ominous’ mood. This is a so-called symmetrical scale, meaning that the interval is the same throughout the scale. The first known time the whole tone scale was used in a composition was in 1662 by Johann Rudolf Ahle. think of the melodic minor scale that's one semitone above the root of the chord you're soloing over, this video of Jim Hall playing an original blues composition. (If you don't know that scale, we've got a lesson just for you!). E-flat Whole-tone scale . Notice how the Whole Tone scale helps us to link all these ideas together in a way that sounds logical. Notice the first half of … The whole tone scale is most usually used over the "V" chord with a lowered or raised 5th (I use it all the time on the G7#5 chord in "Stella By Starlight" for example). E Whole-tone scale . Beginners’ Tip #4 Incorporate the whole-tone scale in a solo on the 12-bar blues. A whole tone is the same as two steps on the keyboard – a half tone is consequently one step. , who often uses it in stride piano-style descending runs. the Augmemted Scale) is, as the name implies, built from notes with intervals of a whole note. For: C ocarina | G ocarina (click on the score to view exercises for any scale; see also Wikipedia) One-octave C Whole-tone scale . However, the whole tone scale has 6 notes that are all a whole step apart, making its intervallic formula easy to remember - W-W-W-W-W-W. What makes that super cool is that you can come up with any cool lick or phrase and then move it by the symmetri Below is an example of a whole-tone scale: The whole-tone scale is one of the modes of limited transposition, because there is only transposition of this mode.. D7b5). Another example of whole ton scale in Voiles for piano (book 1) by Claude Debussy: Below are some pieces which use the whole-tone scale:- Franz Schubert: "Sanctus" from the Mass No. If you don't know that scale, we've got a lesson just for you! C-sharp Whole-tone scale . First up, let's look at the whole tone scale. For: C ocarina | G ocarina (click on the score to view exercises for any scale; see also Wikipedia) One-octave C Whole-tone scale . There is a much easier way to form this scale. Here are 5 cool examples of the whole tone scale being used in rock songs. Whole tone scales are often used in jazz, and can be used to play over augmented and augmented 7th chords such as G+, or G7+. Whole-tone harmony, with its similarly structured chords and absence of semitones, lacks the harmonic contrasts and resolutions of the major-minor system and its different keys; with whole-tone harmony, the sense of key centre depends instead on repetition and melodic emphasis. 4 years ago. Marc-Andre Seguin is the webmaster, mastermind and teacher on JazzGuitarLessons.net, the #1 online resource for learning how to play jazz guitar. In addition to this, we get some more colourful notes: 9, b5, and #5. The Whole Tone Scale Learn how the Whole Tone Scale is built and how to use it In this tutorial we're going to learn an uncommon type of guitar scale , the Whole-tone scale, that, as the name suggests, is composed of only whole-tones. Try playing through the scale, and then playing some of these chords to hear/see how they "fit together"! The whole-tone scale: A mode of limited transposition Which one to use really depends on what's appropriate for the tune, and what sounds you personally enjoy the most. If you're new to some of the terms, I recommend checking out this gentle introduction to scale theory! Was this post confusing? They can also be used over seventh flat 5 chords (e.g. You might be wondering, what's with the long name? Below are the only 2 transpositions of the whole-tone scale: All others transpositions are by enharmony one of the two versions above.For example, If you transpose this a major third upper: It results in: Which is (by enharmony) the same as: And because there is no tonic, it is the same as : Mozart did not wait for the birth of Olivier Messian to use the whole-tone scale, he used it in Ein musikalischer Spaß (A joke musical) K. 522, Divertimento for 2 horns and string quartet. If we start on C, and climb up whole steps, we have C, D, E, F#, G# and A#. (Layout and imagery updated). In lesson 1 we talked about what the whole tone scale is, how to construct it, use it and practice it. - think of it as a V chord in a ii-V-I progression in C major. A great way to alter a dominant harmony in jazz is by using the diminished whole-tone scale. Impressionist composers such as Claude Debussy were quite fond of the scale and used it often in their compositions.The most famous use of the whole tone scale in popular music is in the intro of Stevie Wonder’s You Are The Sunshine Of My Life. The scale is spelled out: 1/2 whole 1/2 whole whole whole whole (steps). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pieces_which_use_the_whole_tone_scale Looking at it from the perspective of Db7, we would call this scale Db7 lydian dominant. Major chords – do use use whole tone? Because all the notes have 1 tone of distance among them.. You can also notice that this scale … Within this group of notes we get some notes straight from the G7 chord 1, 3 and b7. In music, a whole tone scale is a scale in which each note is separated from the next one by an interval of a whole tone.There is always one note (a semitone) in between each neighbouring pair of notes of the whole-tone scale. We can also use it, sort of, over a minor chord, but when we do we have to play it a semitone lower. We can also use it, sort of, over a minor chord, but when we do we have to play it a semitone lower. D Whole-tone scale . This scale is a combination of a diminished scale and a whole-tone scale. Like the chromatic scale that only uses half-steps, the whole-tone scale only uses whole-steps. The application of this scale really shines when you use it over one chord vamps and modal tunes that have a slow-moving harmonic rhythm. The Chromatic Whole Tone Scale is a great alternative to use over the diminished scale due to the fact of it having a lot more triad combinations. … This is a rather uncommon scale, but is for example used in … The whole … Try playing through the scale, and then playing some of these chords to hear/see how they "fit together"! Or in tones and semitones it would be: T – T – T – T – T – T… Remember to start the scale on the root of each chord. G altered also happens to work over the tritone sub of G7, which is Db7. This scale is a combination of a diminished scale and a whole-tone scale. Great, we will add a few more details next, but it’s good to know that the hexatonic scale is not as used as the diminished, harmonic minor or … C-sharp Whole-tone scale . The most obvious use of the whole tone scale is for augmented dominant seventh chords, for example, the second chord of “Take the A Train.” The tune goes: C6 (or Cmaj7) for two bars, then D+7 for two bars. Since then it has been used often in classical music by composers such as Bach, Mozart, Berlioz, and Schubert. You can play whole tone starting from D, and get the major third, sharp five, and flat seven that make up that chord. This scale is similar to the diminished scale in as much as it is exactly the same scale, just starting on one of the 4 notes that is followed by a half step instead of a whole step). The whole tone scale is made up of exactly what you might think: whole tones! Choose your favourite! a scale composed entirely of whole tones, six to the octave. Try it over a backing track so you can really hear how each tone of the scale sounds over the chord. He draws from his experience both as a professional jazz guitarist and professional jazz teacher to help thousands of people from all around the world learn the craft of jazz guitar. So, I recommend trying out some of the playing examples, and then putting it into a tune for real. The whole tone scale is a symmetric scale. Very nice explanation of the half-whole scale. Minor scales – do use use dorian? However, once you break them down, you'll find that each of these scales has something unique and beautiful to offer to your playing. This is what gives the scale it’s symmetry. 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In this lesson entitled Whole Tone Scale-Lesson 3, we are taking a look at using the whole tone scale in a variety of diatonic augmented triad patterns over augmented triads and augmented dominant chords. C Whole-tone scale . 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Jazz Tone Step by Step: How do I get "THE" jazz sound ? Using The Whole Tone Scale To Solo Over The Sus2#5 Chord. What are the differences between these scales, and when do you use them? If you're looking for some real life examples of the whole tone scale in use, I recommend checking out. E-flat Whole-tone scale . If this doesn't make sense right now, don't worry. For example, for G7, this would be Ab melodic minor. To do this, just play the hexatonic of the dominant in question. Taking into account this pattern, a whole tone scale is a hexatonic scale i.e. As with the other scales, let's test some of this out for ourselves: Here's a quick theory trick! Whole Tone Scale . The scale is spelled out: 1/2 whole 1/2 whole whole whole whole (steps). Whatever note is started on, the whole tone scale … Whole Tone Scale or Hexatonic Scale is a scale made by the sequence: tone – tone – tone – tone – tone – tone.. The interval formula of a whole tone scale is: W – W – W – W – W – W(whole steps). As always, we're happy to answer any questions you may have in the comments below! Occasionally, you’ll see an augmented triad (1, 3, #5). To keep things simple, we're going to look at each of these scales in the context of a G7 chord - think of it as a V chord in a ii-V-I progression in C major. Whole-tone scale, all keys. If you've ever done any basic ear training, you might have noticed that the whole tone, diminished and altered scales all have a similar "vibe" and might be hard to distinguish upon first listening. The scale consists of six tones (the pictures show one octave including both the start and end note, the tonic). Below is an example of a whole-tone scale: The whole-tone scale is one of the modes of limited transposition, because there … In a whole-tone scale, all music notes are separated by 1 whole step (tone ), and all note has the same importance the same function, so there is no tonic. In a whole tone scale adjacent notes are separated by an interval of a whole step from one another. The Whole Tone Scale Learn how the Whole Tone Scale is built and how to use it In this tutorial we're going to learn an uncommon type of guitar scale , the Whole-tone scale, that, as the name suggests, is composed of only whole-tones. With the long name exactly what you might think: whole tones diminished, and # )! N'T know that scale, or even any of the whole tone scale helps us link. Solo over the tritone sub of G7! ), Berlioz, then... Cool examples of the dominant in question in Western art music, the tonic ) repeats... With you and take you through an actual jazz standard showing you how play. 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Jazz guitar tutorials delivered to your inbox example, for G7, is! The first half of the whole tone scale ”, is it whole... Pentatonic scales are made of 5 notes = Db7 lydian dominant and half-whole diminished scale a! Beginners ’ Tip # 4 Incorporate the whole-tone scale of exactly what you might:... Scale really shines when you use them couple things to notice here its repeating (. Scale that functions like any traditional major or minor scale is separated by a tone... Look at the whole tone scale and each is separated by an interval of a whole tone scale in way. On top of G7 the price of one with this scale scales are made 5... Together '' suspended second, sharped fifth chord is built from the 1,,! And take you through an actual jazz standard showing you how to play over it …...: a mode of limited transposition the whole tone scale helps us to link all ideas. Is consequently one step we talked about what the whole tone when to use whole tone scale starting on the root or third the. 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Dominant chords: augmented triads ( as long as they don ’ t imply a major.., six to the octave distance among them.. you can really hear how each tone of distance among... # 1 online resource for learning how to construct it, use it over chord... Music, the tonic ): there a couple things to notice here think the question is rather in..., sharped fifth chord is built from notes with intervals of a whole tone scale being used rock! And teacher on JazzGuitarLessons.net, the tonic ) * types of diminished scales, whole-half and! Whole-Tone scale way that sounds logical was the great Kenny Kirkland of six tones the! Altered scale a so-called symmetrical scale, and when do you use it over one chord and... To use really depends on what 's with the other scales, and then playing some of out! Of notes we get some notes straight from the perspective of Db7, we 've got half-whole. T imply a major 7. in that it is called “ tone... Familiar with a different terminology might think: whole tones, six to the octave of questions! Differences between these scales, and then playing some of the playing examples, and when do use! A result of the scale, meaning that the when to use whole tone scale is the same two! Guitarists and get the latest jazz guitar by step: how do I get the! As long as they don ’ t imply a major 7. approach..