Piano scales · Whole tone
The whole tone scale
Six notes, every one a whole step from the next. With no half steps there's no home and no pull: just a floating, dreamlike haze. There are only two of them. Hear both.
Jam: start the loop, then play the computer keys A S D F G H J K L: each one is the next note of the scale, so nothing you play is wrong. Or click the lit keys.Jam: start the loop and tap the lit keys. They’re all in the scale, so nothing you play is wrong.
The notes
From C: C D E F♯ G♯ A♯, then C again. From D♭: D♭ E♭ F G A B. Six notes to the octave, not seven, so one letter is always missing; that's normal.
Only two of them
A whole tone scale uses every other key. Start on any of its own notes and you get the same six again. So there are exactly two whole tone scales, and between them they use all twelve keys: one has C, the other has C♯.
The sound
Every step is the same size, so the scale has no landmarks: no note sounds like home, and nothing leans anywhere. Stack its notes in thirds and you only ever get augmented chords, which hover without resolving. The loop in the tool alternates two of them.
That's why it's the sound of a dream sequence, a flashback, or a magic spell. Claude Debussy built his prelude Voiles (Sails) almost entirely from it.
Exploring sounds on a real piano? Ivory listens to you play and tells you what's off: a note that's missing, a hand that lands late, a rhythm that drifts. Then it shows you how it should go.
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Questions people ask
What are the notes of the whole tone scale?
Starting on C: C, D, E, F♯, G♯, A♯. The other whole tone scale, starting on D♭: D♭, E♭, F, G, A, B.
Why are there only two whole tone scales?
Each one uses every other key. Start on C and you get six notes; start on D and you get the same six. Only starting on a note it doesn't have (C♯, D♭, E♭ …) gives the other six. Between them, the two scales use all twelve notes.
Why does the whole tone scale sound dreamy?
Every step is the same size, so no note feels like home: there's no half step to lead anywhere. Its chords are all augmented, which float without resolving. Film and TV use it for dream sequences and flashbacks.
Who used the whole tone scale?
Claude Debussy, most famously: his prelude Voiles is built almost entirely on it. Liszt, Ravel and later jazz musicians used it too, often over a dominant 7th chord with a raised 5th.