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Guitar scale · exotic

Ab Leading Whole Tone Scale

Whole-tone scale with the major 7th added as a leading tone: 1 2 3 ♯4 ♯5 ♭7 7. Mode 2 of Neapolitan Major.

Notes AbBbCDEGbG
Formula 1 2 3 ♯4 ♯5 ♭7 7
Steps W W W W W H H
Mood Floating, Bright, Unresolved
Heard in Over augmented and dominant 7♯5 chords

Interactive scale diagram

Ab Leading Whole Tone Scale · Standard tuning

STR OP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 E A D G B E

Tap any note to hear it.

Ab Leading Whole Tone Scale tab: all 5 positions

Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.

Position 1 · E shape frets 4–8 
e|-----------------------------4-6-8-|
B|-----------------------5-7-8-------|
G|-------------------5-7-------------|
D|-----------4-5-6-8-----------------|
A|-------5-7-------------------------|
E|-4-6-8-----------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 6–10 
e|--------------------------------6-8-10-|
B|--------------------------7-8-9--------|
G|----------------------7-9--------------|
D|---------------6-8-10------------------|
A|--------7-9-10-------------------------|
E|-6-8-10--------------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 8–12 
e|--------------------------------------8-10-12-|
B|---------------------------------9-11---------|
G|-------------------------9-11-12--------------|
D|-----------------8-10-12----------------------|
A|---------9-10-11------------------------------|
E|-8-10-12--------------------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 11–15 
e|-------------------------------------------12-14-15-|
B|-------------------------------------13-15----------|
G|-------------------------11-12-13-15----------------|
D|-------------------12-14----------------------------|
A|----------11-13-15----------------------------------|
E|-12-14-15-------------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 13–17 
e|-------------------------------------------14-15-16-|
B|-------------------------------------15-17----------|
G|----------------------------13-15-17----------------|
D|-------------------14-16-17-------------------------|
A|----------13-15-17----------------------------------|
E|-14-15-16-------------------------------------------|

How to play Ab Leading Whole Tone on guitar

Find the root first: Ab is at fret 4 on the low E string and fret 11 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Ab on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (3, ♯5, ♭7), the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.

Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 4–8. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.

Degrees

DegreeNote
1 Ab
2 Bb
3 C
♯4 D
♯5 E
♭7 Gb
7 G

Chords in Ab Leading Whole Tone

Stack every other note of the scale and you get these seven chords. They are the chords that sound "at home" in Ab Leading Whole Tone; tap one to see its shapes.

Degree Chord 7th chord Function
I+ Abaug Abmaj7#5 Tonic
II+ Bbaug — Supertonic
III C C7 Mediant
♯IV — — Subdominant
♯v° Edim Em7b5 Dominant
♭VI — — Submediant
vii Gm Gm(maj7) Leading tone / subtonic

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Questions

What notes are in the Ab Leading Whole Tone Scale?
The Ab Leading Whole Tone Scale has 7 notes: Ab, Bb, C, D, E, Gb, G.
What chords are in the Ab Leading Whole Tone Scale?
The chords of Ab Leading Whole Tone are Abaug (I+), Bbaug (II+), C (III), Edim (♯v°), Gm (vii).
What is the formula of the leading whole tone scale?
1 2 3 ♯4 ♯5 ♭7 7, which is the step pattern W W W W W H H (W = whole step, H = half step).
Where do I play Ab Leading Whole Tone on the guitar?
The root Ab is at fret 4 on the low E string and fret 11 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 4–8, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Leading Whole Tone Scale in every key

C C# D Eb E F F# G Ab A Bb B

More scales in Ab

Ab Major Ab Minor Ab Minor Pentatonic Ab Major Pentatonic Ab Blues Ab Major Blues Ab Dorian Ab Phrygian Ab Lydian Ab Mixolydian Ab Locrian Ab Harmonic Minor Ab Phrygian Dominant Ab Melodic Minor Ab Lydian Dominant Ab Lydian Augmented Ab Altered Ab Whole Tone Ab Half-Whole Diminished Ab Whole-Half Diminished Ab Bebop Dominant Ab Hungarian Minor Ab Dorian b2 Ab Mixolydian b6 Ab Locrian Natural 2 Ab Locrian Natural 6 Ab Ionian #5 Ab Ukrainian Dorian Ab Lydian #2 Ab Ultralocrian Ab Harmonic Major Ab Dorian b5 Ab Lydian b3 Ab Double Harmonic Major Ab Oriental Ab Neapolitan Minor Ab Neapolitan Major Ab Augmented Ab Bebop Major Ab Bebop Dorian Ab Yo Ab Hirajoshi Ab In Ab In Sen Ab Iwato Ab Phrygian b4 Ab Mixolydian b2 Ab Lydian Augmented #2 Ab Locrian bb7 Ab Lydian #2 #6 Ab Ultraphrygian Ab Ionian Augmented #2 Ab Locrian bb3 bb7 Ab Major Locrian Ab Lydian Dominant b6 Ab Hungarian Major Ab Persian Ab Enigmatic Ab Prometheus Ab Tritone Ab Bebop Melodic Minor Ab Bebop Harmonic Minor Ab Egyptian Pentatonic Ab Man Gong