Whole tone scale in C on electric guitar
Whole tone scale in C: C, D, E, F#, G# and A#, the degrees 1–2–3–#4–#5–#6. The box shown is in open position, from the open strings up to fret 4; the lowest tonic sits on the 5th string, fret 3, and the hand stays put in the region, with no position shift.
On electric guitar, the slimmer neck invites legato — the same fingering runs with less effort, and the high positions stay comfortable. Plugged into an amp, each chord sustains for as long as you hold it, and the tone — clean or driven — shapes the whole sound.
Practice it tonic to tonic: hearing degree 1 at both ends anchors the scale's sound.
Text description
Open strings and frets 1 to 4, 6 strings. Root (C): string 5, fret 3 and string 2, fret 1.
- String 6 (E): open, E, third; fret 2, F sharp, sharp fourth, finger 2; fret 4, G sharp, sharp fifth, finger 4
- String 5 (A): fret 1, A sharp, sharp sixth, finger 1; fret 3, C, root, finger 3
- String 4 (D): open, D, second; fret 2, E, third, finger 2; fret 4, F sharp, sharp fourth, finger 4
- String 3 (G): fret 1, G sharp, sharp fifth, finger 1; fret 3, A sharp, sharp sixth, finger 3
- String 2 (B): fret 1, C, root, finger 1; fret 3, D, second, finger 3
- String 1 (E): open, E, third; fret 2, F sharp, sharp fourth, finger 2; fret 4, G sharp, sharp fifth, finger 4
In the diagram, each dot carries its scale degree; 1 is the tonic, highlighted.