STRINGSCALES

A whole tone pentatonic Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F, G, A, C#, Eb at frets 1, 3, 5, 9, 11

A string: A, C#, Eb, F, G, A at frets 0, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

D string: Eb, F, G, A, C# at frets 1, 3, 5, 7, 11

G string: G, A, C#, Eb, F, G at frets 0, 2, 6, 8, 10, 12

B string: C#, Eb, F, G, A at frets 2, 4, 6, 8, 10

High E string: F, G, A, C#, Eb at frets 1, 3, 5, 9, 11

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A whole tone pentatonic

The whole tone pentatonic extracts five notes from whole tone territory: root, major 3rd, flat 5th, flat 6th, flat 7th. Everything above the 3rd is drawn from the augmented and dominant-altered world, so it floats without resolving, useful over augmented triads and 7#5 chords or for impressionist, dreamlike passages.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

A

I

C♯

III

E♭

bV

F

bVI

G

bVII

whole tone pentatonic in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Five notes, no anchor: root, III, b5 (Eb), b6 (F), b7 (G) float over augmented and 7#5 sounds without one wasted note.
  • Use it as a compressed altered color: over a dominant chord on A, b5 (Eb) and b6 (F) read as #11 and b13.
  • The major 3rd (C#) is the only sweetness in the set; phrase toward it when the line needs a landing.
  • Try it against a plain minor chord a major 3rd below A for a polytonal shimmer that resolves by dropping one fret.

How to play A whole tone pentatonic on guitar

Open A is the root, so an unfretted bass note is always on hand. Open G supplies the minor seventh, so two strings ring in key with nothing held down. Box 1 begins at 5 on the low E. Two more sit at 7 on the D and 2 on the G. First shape gives out at 9, so the climb up the neck starts there.

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