About the F sharp Whole Tone scale
F 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 F♯ Prometheus with the sixth lowered.
Its notes are F♯, G♯, A♯, B♯, D, and E. The formula is W W W W W W.
Also called Auxiliary Augmented and Messiaen Mode 1.
The open-string notes E and D all sit inside the mode. The lowest F♯ on a standard-tuned guitar sits at the 2nd fret of the low E string. With a capo at the second fret, F♯ Whole Tone can be played with E-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 | F#F♯ | Root |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | G#G♯ | Major 2nd |
| 3 | A#A♯ | Major 3rd |
| 4 | B#B♯ | Augmented 4th |
| 5 | DD | Minor 6th |
| 6 | EE | 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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