What does whole tone scale mean?
Definitions for whole tone scale
whole tone scale
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word whole tone scale.
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Whole tone scale
In music, a whole tone scale is a scale in which each note is separated from its neighbors by the interval of a whole step. There are only two complementary whole tone scales, both six-note or hexatonic scales: The whole tone scale has no leading tone and because all tones are the same distance apart, "no single tone stands out, [and] the scale creates a blurred, indistinct effect". This effect is especially emphasized by the fact that triads built on such scale tones are augmented. Indeed, one can play all six tones of a whole tone scale simply with two augmented triads whose roots are a major second apart. Since they are symmetrical, whole tone scales do not give a strong impression of the tonic or tonality. The composer Olivier Messiaen called the whole tone scale his first mode of limited transposition. The composer and music theorist George Perle calls the whole tone scale interval cycle 2, or C2. Since there are only two possible whole tone scale positions, it is either C2⁰ or C2¹. For this reason, the whole tone scale is also maximally even and may be considered a generated collection.
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of whole tone scale in Chaldean Numerology is: 8
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of whole tone scale in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4
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"whole tone scale." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/whole+tone+scale>.
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