About the C sharp Whole Tone scale
C sharp Whole Tone is used for dream sequences, impressionist music and solos over dominant chords. Think of it as a scale of nothing but whole steps, floating with no clear home. It is C♯ Prometheus with the sixth lowered.
Its notes are C♯, D♯, E♯, G, A, and B. The formula is W W W W W W.
Also called Auxiliary Augmented and Messiaen Mode 1.
Three open-string notes belong to C♯ Whole Tone, namely A, G, and B. On guitar, the deepest C♯ within reach is the 4th fret of the A string. Placed at the first fret, a capo lets C♯ Whole Tone be played with C-shape fingerings.
Positions
Playable shapes for this scale up the neck. Tap any note to hear it.
6-position system
6 four-fret boxes, one per scale degree, each a single hand position with almost no shifting. The jazz and classical way, from William Leavitt's Berklee method. This scale is symmetric, so the same box shape repeats up the neck.
Notes and intervals
| 1 | C#C♯ | Root |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | D#D♯ | Major 2nd |
| 3 | E#E♯ | Major 3rd |
| 4 | GG | Augmented 4th |
| 5 | AA | Minor 6th |
| 6 | BB | Minor 7th |
| Steps | W W W W W W |
|---|---|
| Semitones | 2-2-2-2-2-2 |
| Degrees | 1 2 3 ♯4 ♭6 ♭7 |
Shapes
Chromatic
Circle of Fifths
Related scales
Whole Tone in other keys
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