October 25, 2026

whole tone scales

YouTube Playlist: Scale Mastery for Professional Saxophonists

Title: whole tone scales
Release date: October 25, 2026
Produced by: Djere Services Group
Audio generated using: Gemini Notebook
Audio and video edited using only Free Software/open-source software (FOSS): Shotcut
Associated article: https://saxtalk.com/whole-tone-scales.html

Executive Summary

This article and the accompanying video will guide you through mastering the whole tone scales across all 15 key signatures. We're going to use my Balanced Scale Pairs System (see Reference A) to internalize these unique symmetrical patterns.

Traditionally, practice routines start with zero accidentals and progress upward to the seven-accidental pair. However, I've found that varying this order is highly beneficial. You can progress backward from seven accidentals down to zero, or start in the middle with the four-accidental pair and move in either direction. These flexible techniques will greatly improve your sight-reading in keys with many accidentals, sharpen your mental agility, and prevent boredom.

Fluency in these six-note (hexatonic) configurations is essential for improvising musicians across jazz, fusion, rock, R&B, and gospel music. Mastering these sequences provides a strong melodic foundation for soloing over augmented triads and altered dominant chords, such as the dominant 7#5. Internalizing these shapes unlocks the vocabulary necessary to navigate complex progressions and construct lines that deliver sophisticated harmonic tension and release.

Keywords: whole tone scale, hexatonic scale, symmetrical scale, augmented chords, dominant 7#5, music theory, key signatures, scale notes, sharps and flats, accidentals, music reference, saxophone practice, instrumental practice

0 Accidentals

Label	Key	Signature	Scale Notes
00	A whole tone	0	A - B - C# - D# - F - G - A

1 Accidental

Label	Key	Signature	Scale Notes
01a	E whole tone	1 Sharp (F#)	E - F# - G# - A# - C - D - E
01b	D whole tone	1 Flat (Bb)	D - E - F# - G# - Bb - C - D

2 Accidentals

Label	Key	Signature	Scale Notes
02a	B whole tone	2 Sharps (F#, C#)	B - C# - D# - F - G - A - B
02b	G whole tone	2 Flats (Bb, Eb)	G - A - B - C# - D# - F - G

3 Accidentals

Label	Key	Signature	Scale Notes
03a	F# whole tone	3 Sharps (F#, C#, G#)	F# - G# - A# - C - D - E - F#
03b	C whole tone	3 Flats (Bb, Eb, Ab)	C - D - E - F# - G# - Bb - C

4 Accidentals

Label	Key	Signature	Scale Notes
04a	C# whole tone	4 Sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#)	C# - D# - F - G - A - B - C#
04b	F whole tone	4 Flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db)	F - G - A - B - Db - Eb - F

5 Accidentals

Label	Key	Signature	Scale Notes
05a	G# whole tone	5 Sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#)	G# - A# - C - D - E - F# - G#
05b	Bb whole tone	5 Flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb)	Bb - C - D - E - Gb - Ab - Bb

6 Accidentals

Label	Key	Signature	Scale Notes
06a	D# whole tone	6 Sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#)	D# - F - G - A - B - C# - D#
06b	Eb whole tone	6 Flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb)	Eb - F - G - A - B - Db - Eb

7 Accidentals

Label	Key	Signature	Scale Notes
07a	A# whole tone	7 Sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#)	A# - C - D - E - F# - G# - A#
07b	Ab whole tone	7 Flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb)	Ab - Bb - C - D - E - Gb - Ab

References

[A] The Balanced Scale Pairs System (Saxtalk.com). Retrieved October 25, 2026 from here.
[B] Whole tone scale (Wikipedia). Retrieved October 25, 2026 from here.
[C] Scales That Every Professional Saxophonist Should Master (Saxtalk.com). Retrieved October 25, 2026 from here.