Scale · Piano
E♭ Whole Tone Scale · Piano
Interactive keyboard
Highlighted notes form this scale.
Notes
E♭ · F · G · A · B · C♯
Root: E♭
Intervals
1 · 2 · 3 · ♯4 · ♯5 · ♯6
How it is built
This scale starts on E♭ and applies the intervals 1, 2, 3, ♯4, ♯5, ♯6. The result contains 6 distinct pitch classes per octave.
Explore related combinations
Guide and musical context
About E♭ Whole Tone Piano Scale
E♭ Whole Tone Piano scale uses the notes E♭, F, G, A, B, C♯. Its character is floating and ambiguous because every step is a whole tone.
Character and sound
Floating and ambiguous because every step is a whole tone.
Musical context and history
Whole-tone is symmetric and has only two distinct collections before transposition repeats. Its color became especially familiar in Impressionist music and later in jazz and film scoring.
How and where it is used
It works over augmented chords and some altered dominants, and for passages without a strong tonal hierarchy.
On piano, the notes can be distributed between both hands and across different octaves. The interactive keyboard makes it easy to verify pitches and experiment with inversions or registers without changing the harmony. Everything you see and hear on this page comes from the same note set shown above.
Harmonic and musical relationships
A practical way to understand this scale is to compare it with the major and minor scales starting on E♭. The altered notes are exactly what create its characteristic color.
The formula on this page is 1 · 2 · 3 · ♯4 · ♯5 · ♯6 and, from E♭, produces the notes E♭ · F · G · A · B · C♯.
Frequently asked questions
What notes are in the E♭ Whole Tone Piano scale?
The notes are E♭, F, G, A, B, C♯.
What is its interval formula?
The formula is 1 · 2 · 3 · ♯4 · ♯5 · ♯6.
How does it sound and what is it used for?
Floating and ambiguous because every step is a whole tone. It works over augmented chords and some altered dominants, and for passages without a strong tonal hierarchy.
How can I check it on Piano?
Use the interactive diagram on this page and press Play or Note by note. The highlighted positions, written notes and playback all use the same pitch collection.