About the A sharp Whole Tone Pentatonic (alt) scale
A sharp Whole Tone Pentatonic (alt) is used for impressionist textures and film scoring. Think of it as another five-note slice of the whole-tone scale. It is A♯ Major ♭6 Pentatonic with the fifth lowered.
Its notes are A♯, B♯, D, E, and F♯. The formula is W W W W 4 semitones. It is the fourth mode of D 7b13 Pentatonic.
In A♯ Whole Tone Pentatonic (alt), the open strings sound E and D. Down at the 1st fret of the A string lies the lowest A♯ a guitar can play. With a capo at the first fret, A♯ Whole Tone Pentatonic (alt) can be played with A-shape fingerings.
Positions
Playable shapes for this scale up the neck. Tap any note to hear it.
Pentatonic boxes
The five shapes blues and rock are built on, the first scale most guitarists ever solo with, one box per note up the neck.
Notes and intervals
| 1 | A#A♯ | Root |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | B#B♯ | Major 2nd |
| 3 | DD | Major 3rd |
| 4 | EE | Augmented 4th |
| 5 | F#F♯ | Augmented 5th |
| Steps | W W W W 4 semitones |
|---|---|
| Semitones | 2-2-2-2-4 |
| Degrees | 1 2 3 ♯4 ♯5 |
Shapes
Chromatic
Circle of Fifths
Related scales
Whole Tone Pentatonic (alt) in other keys
Modes
The same notes, starting on a different note.
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