Bb Whole Tone Scale
The Bb whole tone scale (also written A#) — Bb C D E F# Ab — with its intervals, the chords it fits and every position on the guitar neck.
Also written A# whole tone. A# and Bb are the same pitch — Bb is the spelling in common use.
Tap any note on the neck.
Swipe the neck sideways to see the higher frets.
Bb whole tone scale notes and intervals
Bb whole tone has 6 notes. Each is named by its distance from the root, which is the same in every key — learn the numbers once and every whole tone scale reads the same.
Step pattern from the root: W – W – W – W – W – W (W is a whole step, two frets; H is a half step, one fret).
Scales it shares notes with:
- C whole tone — whole tone from the 2 — the same six notes again, a whole step up
Bb whole tone scale positions on guitar — all 6
Bb whole tone fits in a five-fret box, three notes or two on each string. Every step in the scale is a whole step, so all six positions are one shape: move it two frets up or down and you have the same six notes again, anywhere between frets 0 and 14.
Position 1 — frets 6–10
Starts on the 1 (Bb) on the 6th string. Practice this position →
Position 2 — frets 8–12
Starts on the 2 (C) on the 6th string. Practice this position →
Position 3 — frets 10–14
Starts on the 3 (D) on the 6th string. Practice this position →
Position 4 — frets 0–4
Starts on the #4 (E) on the 6th string. Practice this position →
Position 5 — frets 2–6
Starts on the #5 (F#) on the 6th string. Practice this position →
Position 6 — frets 4–8
Starts on the b7 (Ab) on the 6th string. Practice this position →
Chords to play Bb whole tone over
Bb whole tone is the scale for the augmented chord Bbaug (Bb D F#) and for Bb7#5 (Bb D F# Ab), a dominant 7th with a raised 5th. Every note is a whole step from the next, so the scale has no perfect 5th and no half step to resolve by, which is where its floating sound comes from. It is two augmented triads a whole step apart, Bbaug and Caug.
Play the Bbaug arpeggio inside the scale → The Practice Loop keeps only the chord’s notes in each position, so you hear what the rest of the scale is decorating.
How to practice the Bb whole tone scale
- Start with position 4 at frets 0–4, slowly, until every note lands on the click. The loop keeps the shape and the tempo for you.
- Slide the shape: position 5 is the same fingering 2 frets higher, and the same notes. Play one, then the other, and the move is the scale.
- Climb 3 notes at a time, one note up each time: each group starts a whole step above the last, the same step the scale repeats by.
- Switch the same position to the Bbaug arpeggio, the chord’s notes alone, then back to the scale.
- See every Bb whole tone note across the whole neck on the Fretboard, and find each box again an octave up.
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