Whole-tone scale facts for kids

A whole tone scale is a special kind of musical scale where every note is separated from the next by a full step, called a whole tone. Imagine climbing a ladder where each step is exactly the same size. In a whole tone scale, there are no half-steps, only full steps. This makes the scale sound very smooth and often a bit "dreamy" or floating.

You can start a whole tone scale on any note. But no matter where you start, the notes will always be one of these two groups:

• C, D, E, F#, G#, A#
• or
• C#, D#, F, G, A, B

When you play a whole tone scale on a piano and hold down the sustain pedal, it creates a unique, flowing sound. It doesn't sound like it belongs to any specific musical key, which adds to its floating quality. It also sounds really good on a harp.

What Makes a Whole Tone Scale Unique?

A regular musical scale, like the C major scale, has a mix of whole steps and half steps. For example, between E and F, there's only a half step. But in a whole tone scale, every single step is a whole tone. This means there's always one note (a semitone) exactly in between each note of the whole tone scale. This special pattern gives it a very distinct sound.

Who Uses Whole Tone Scales?

Many composers have used the whole tone scale to create interesting and sometimes mysterious sounds in their music.

Early Users of the Scale

The French composer Claude Debussy is very famous for using the whole tone scale a lot in his pieces. He lived from 1862 to 1918. However, he wasn't the first to discover or use it. Earlier Russian composers also explored this unique sound. For example, Mikhail Glinka used it in his opera Ruslan and Ludmila. Another Russian composer, Alexander Borodin, also featured it in his opera Prince Igor.

Later Composers and Jazz

The whole tone scale continued to inspire musicians. Alban Berg, who was an Austrian composer (1885-1935), used it in his Violin Concerto. The Hungarian composer Béla Bartók (1881-1945) also included it in his String Quartet No. 5. Beyond classical music, the whole tone scale has also found its way into jazz music, where musicians use it to create unique harmonies and improvisations.

Images for kids

• 

  The two whole tone scales as a symmetrical partitioning of the chromatic scale; if C=0 then the top stave has even (02468t) and the bottom has odd (13579e) pitches

• 

  A musical example from Janacek's Sinfonietta

See also

In Spanish: Escala de tonos enteros para niños