Archives for November 8, 2008

Want to augment your sound? Work whole tone scales and their trademark chord, the augmented chord, into your practice sessions and your playing. Adding them to your improv toolkit is one of the easiest acquisitions you”ll ever make.\r\n\r\nWhy? Because, like the diminished scale and the augmented scale, the whole tone scale is what”s called a “symetrical scale.” Unlike common scales and modes such as the major scale and the harmonic minor scale, the augmented scale consists solely of whole steps. No whole/half steps spaced irregularly; just a nice, uniform scale consisting of six notes a major second apart from each other.\r\n\r\nFor instance, the C whole tone scale consists of the following notes: C, D, E, F#, G#, A#(Bb), and then octave C.\r\n\r\nThink about this arrangement a bit and you”ll realize that once you know the C whole tone scale, you also know the D whole tone, the E whole tone, and so forth. That”s the beauty of symetrical scales: they save you time, energy, and brain power. Learn one whole tone scale and you”ve learned six.\r\n\r\nThis means that there are, in reality, just two whole tone scales you have to contend with, starting a half-step apart from each other. Beyond that, everything else is just repetition.\r\n\r\nWhole tone scales and the augmented chords that arise from them have a unique, free-floating sound. Think of the opening to the Stevie Wonder tune, “You Are the Sunshine of My Life.” Remember that ascending line with the strange, gravity-less feel to it? That”s the whole tone sound. Harmonically speaking, the whole tone scale is a man without a country. Use it sparingly to color dominant seventh chords, or just to add interest by kicking your line temporarily away from the tonal center.\r\n\r\nOh, yeah–in case you can”t figure it out for yourself, the notes to the C# whole tone scale are: C#, D#, F, G, A, B, and octave C#.\r\n\r\nHappy practicing!