Guitar scale · exotic
F 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.
Tap any note to hear it.
F 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.
e|-----------------------------1-3-5-| B|-----------------------2-4-5-------| G|-------------------2-4-------------| D|-----------1-2-3-5-----------------| A|-------2-4-------------------------| E|-1-3-5-----------------------------|
e|-----------------------------3-5-7-| B|-----------------------4-5-6-------| G|-------------------4-6-------------| D|-------------3-5-7-----------------| A|-------4-6-7-----------------------| E|-3-5-7-----------------------------|
e|-----------------------------5-7-9-| B|-------------------------6-8-------| G|-------------------6-8-9-----------| D|-------------5-7-9-----------------| A|-------6-7-8-----------------------| E|-5-7-9-----------------------------|
e|--------------------------------------9-11-12-| B|--------------------------------10-12---------| G|----------------------8-9-10-12---------------| D|-----------------9-11-------------------------| A|---------8-10-12------------------------------| E|-9-11-12--------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------11-12-13-| B|-------------------------------------12-14----------| G|----------------------------10-12-14----------------| D|-------------------11-13-14-------------------------| A|----------10-12-14----------------------------------| E|-11-12-13-------------------------------------------|
How to play F Leading Whole Tone on guitar
Find the root first: F is at fret 1 on the low E string and fret 8 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every F 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 1–5. 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
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | F |
| 2 | G |
| 3 | A |
| ♯4 | B |
| ♯5 | C# |
| ♭7 | Eb |
| 7 | E |
Chords in F 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 F Leading Whole Tone; tap one to see its shapes.
| Degree | Chord | 7th chord | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| I+ | Faug | Fmaj7#5 | Tonic |
| II+ | Gaug | — | Supertonic |
| III | A | A7 | Mediant |
| ♯IV | — | — | Subdominant |
| ♯v° | C#dim | C#m7b5 | Dominant |
| ♭VI | — | — | Submediant |
| vii | Em | Em(maj7) | Leading tone / subtonic |
Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android
Practise F Leading Whole Tone anywhere, even offline.
This page is a small slice of Fretwise. The app adds practice: exercises that play as tab, a new routine every day, and the tools to tune and keep time. On iPhone, iPad and Android, no sign-up.
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Questions
- What notes are in the F Leading Whole Tone Scale?
- The F Leading Whole Tone Scale has 7 notes: F, G, A, B, C#, Eb, E.
- What chords are in the F Leading Whole Tone Scale?
- The chords of F Leading Whole Tone are Faug (I+), Gaug (II+), A (III), C#dim (♯v°), Em (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 F Leading Whole Tone on the guitar?
- The root F is at fret 1 on the low E string and fret 8 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 1–5, and four more positions connect it up the neck.