Whole Tone Scale & Chords

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whole tone

The whole tone scale is a colorful and distinctive sound—dreamy, ambiguous, and floating. Because it lacks half steps and has no leading tone, it doesn’t create strong tension-resolution like major/minor scales. Here are the main situations where it’s used:

1. Impressionist or Dreamy Soundscapes

  • Debussy and Ravel used it a lot in impressionist music to create blurred, floating harmonies.
  • Think of scenes that are surreal, magical, or out of time.

2. Augmented Chord Contexts

  • The whole tone scale fits naturally over dominant chords with altered or augmented extensions, like:
    • C7♯5, C7♯11, or just C+
    • It outlines the chord tones and extensions (1, 3, ♯5, ♭7, ♯9, ♯11).

3. Jazz Improvisation (Altered Dominants)

  • Used over V7 chords that resolve to a tonic, especially when those V7s are altered:
    • Over G7♯5 in G7 → Cmaj7
  • Because it contains:
    • 1, 2 (9), 3, ♯4 (♯11), ♯5 (or ♭13), ♭7

4. Creating Ambiguity

  • Since the scale divides the octave into equal whole steps, there’s no tonic pull—so it’s used to avoid tonality, or when you want to feel like you’re floating without direction.
  • Often used in film scores, psychedelic music, or progressive rock for this reason.

5. Slidey, Chromatic Lines

  • Works well for glissando-like passages, especially on instruments like guitar, piano, or trombone.
  • Gives a sliding, symmetrical sound.

Bonus Tip for Guitar:

If you’re playing over a dominant chord with tension (like 7♯5 or 7♯11), try soloing with the whole tone scale starting on the root of the chord. For example:

  • Over G7♯5, use G whole tone scale: G – A – B – C♯ – D♯ – F

common songs with whole tone harmony

Here are some famous songs and pieces where the whole tone scale plays a key role—either in melodic lines, harmony, or mood:

Classical / Impressionist Music

  1. Claude Debussy – “Voiles”
    • This is probably the most famous example. Large sections are based entirely on the whole tone scale.
    • The floating, directionless feel is classic whole-tone writing.
  2. Claude Debussy – “Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune”
    • Uses whole tone textures for dreamy, impressionistic colors.
  3. Alexander Scriabin – “Prelude Op. 74 No. 3”
    • Heavy use of whole tone and other symmetrical scales in his later work.

Jazz

  1. Thelonious Monk – “Four in One”
    • Uses whole tone ideas in the melody and harmony—very quirky and angular, classic Monk.
  2. John Coltrane – “One Down, One Up” (live solos)
    • Coltrane occasionally touches on whole tone runs in his more outside/avant-garde solos.
  3. Wayne Shorter – “JuJu”
    • Has moments of whole tone in his harmonic/melodic language.
  4. Herbie Hancock – “One Finger Snap”
    • Whole tone flavors show up in comping and soloing.

Rock / Pop

  1. Stevie Wonder – “You Are the Sunshine of My Life”
    • There’s a moment in the intro that outlines a whole tone sound (briefly—then it resolves).
  2. The Beatles – “Blue Jay Way”
    • Psychedelic vibes, with some whole tone-ish moments creating a hazy, drifting atmosphere.
  3. King Crimson – “Fracture”
  • Robert Fripp uses symmetrical patterns including whole tone runs in this complex prog epic.

Film / TV / Games

  1. Looney Tunes / Cartoons (Carl Stalling)
  • Whole tone runs often accompany “dream” or “confusion” moments—those classic glissandi up a whole tone scale.
  1. Final Fantasy Series (Nobuo Uematsu)
  • Whole tone scale is used in several battle themes or dream sequences for magical/surreal vibes.
  1. The Simpsons Theme (Danny Elfman)
  • The opening line uses a mix of chromatic and whole tone-ish intervals for that zany sound.