E whole tone scale on viola
E whole tone has 6 notes: E F♯ G♯ A♯ C D. Degrees: 1 2 3 ♯4 ♭6 ♭7. Formula: W W W W W W.
What notes are in the E whole tone scale?
E, F♯, G♯, A♯, C and D. It has 6 notes; its formula in whole and half steps is W W W W W W.
What does E whole tone sound like, and when do you use it?
No center, like a dream: every note the same distance apart. Use it over 7♯5 and 7♭5 (augmented).
To hear it: Voiles — Claude Debussy.
Chord progressions to improvise with E whole tone
In Jam mode (the Jam button above) a band of grand piano, upright bass and drums (recorded instruments) plays these progressions as swing, bossa, groove or ballad, and the fingerboard lights up the notes of each chord as it plays. It's a backing track made for this scale in E:
- Parallel (I7♯5–II7♯5): E7♯5 | F♯7♯5. Two augmented chords a whole step apart: no center, like a dream.
E whole tone on the viola: first position
No frets: string by string (C G D A), from the open string to the fourth finger:
- C string: C D E F♯
- G string: G♯ A♯ C D
- D string: D E F♯ G♯
- A string: A♯ C D E
Same notes as
C whole tone · D whole tone · F♯ whole tone · A♭ whole tone · B♭ whole tone
Whole tone in other keys
On other instruments
E whole tone on piano · E whole tone on guitar · E whole tone on bass · E whole tone on ukulele · E whole tone on mandolin · E whole tone on banjo · E whole tone on violin · E whole tone on cello · E whole tone on alto sax · E whole tone on tenor sax · E whole tone on trumpet · E whole tone on flute · All scales