Chord Colors

D♯ Whole Tone scale
PianoGuitar

About the D sharp Whole Tone scale

D 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 D♯ Prometheus with the sixth lowered.

Its notes are D♯, E♯, G, A, B, and C♯. The formula is W W W W W W.

Also called Auxiliary Augmented and Messiaen Mode 1.

Learn more about the D♯ Whole Tone scale

The black keys D♯ and C♯ belong to D♯ Whole Tone. Even so, the raised fourth is the white key A. Ascending through this scale, four white keys fall in a row.

Notes and intervals

1D#D♯Root
2E#E♯Major 2nd
3GGMajor 3rd
4AAAugmented 4th
5BBMinor 6th
6C#C♯Minor 7th
StepsW W W W W W
Semitones2-2-2-2-2-2
Degrees1 2 3 ♯4 ♭6 ♭7

Shapes

Chromatic

CC♯D♭DD♯E♭EFF♯G♭GG♯A♭AA♯B♭B

Circle of Fifths

CGDAEBF♯G♭C♯D♭G♯A♭D♯E♭A♯B♭F

Related scales

Whole Tone in other keys

C Whole Tone scaleC sharp Whole Tone scaleD Whole Tone scaleE Whole Tone scaleF Whole Tone scaleF sharp Whole Tone scaleG Whole Tone scaleG sharp Whole Tone scaleA Whole Tone scaleA sharp Whole Tone scaleB Whole Tone scale

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Eb Whole Tone scale on piano shown as colored note dots
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