A# Whole Tone
A sharp Whole Tone scale for guitar.
The A# Whole Tone is a six-note symmetrical scale. Colored circles mark the tones in the diagram (darker color highlighting the root notes).
A# Whole Tone 2 octaves
A# Whole Tone full fretboard
The scale displayed with its numeric formula, notes and intervals.
| Formula | Notes | Intervals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A# | Unison |
| 2 | C | Major second |
| 3 | D | Major third |
| #4 | E | Augmented fourth |
| #5 | F# | Augmented fifth |
| b7 | G# | Minor seventh |
The A sharp Whole Tone scale consists of six notes. The name is reflected by the notes that keeps the same distance of one tone between every scale step. It is organized on the guitar fingerboard in steps as whole, whole, whole, whole, whole, whole.
This scale is also called A sharp Augmented scale because it is constructed by including both an augmented fourth and an augmented fifth.
Related to this scale is the A sharp Diminished Whole Tone scale which include seven notes instead of six (see the Related scales tab below).
This scale is typically played over a dominant alternate chord.
A feature of a symmetrical scale is overlapping note relationships and there are only two possible transpositions for this scale. The A# Whole Tone has the same notes as C Whole Tone, D Whole Tone, E Whole Tone, F# Whole Tone and, G# Whole Tone.
Chords with matching notes are especially augmented and alternated chords:
- A#aug
- A#7b5
- A#7#5
- Caug
- C7b5
- C7#5
- Daug
- D7b5
- D7#5
- Eaug
- E7b5
- E7#5
- F#aug
- F#7b5
- F#7#5
- G#aug
- G#7b5
- G#7#5
Although the tones in these chords correspond to the tones of the A# Whole Tone, creating progressions with these chords will seldom sound pleasant. Notice that the seventh sharp fifth also can be spelled augmented 7th.
Related to this scale is the A# Diminished Whole Tone scale, also called A# Dominant Altered or A# Super Locrian. The Diminished Whole Tone include seven notes instead of eight as in the Whole Half Diminished. Also, the intervals differ. It can be displayed as follows:
| Formula | Notes | Intervals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A# | Unison |
| b2 | B | Diminished second |
| #2 | C# | Augmented second |
| 3 | D | Major third |
| b5 | E | Diminished fifth |
| #5 | F# | Augmented fifth |
| b7 | G# | Minor seventh |
Start the audio and play along with your guitar! Use notes from the scale in the diagram above.
Normal tempo: