The Whole-Tone Scale is also known as the Augmented Scale. The whole-tone scale is composed entirely of whole steps. In other words, you’re skipping every other note as you go through the octave. For this reason, there are only two whole-tone scales. Whatever pitches aren’t in one are contained in the other. I usually label them WT[0] and WT[1] because one contains pitch-class 0 (C) and the other pitch-class 1 (C#).
![Whole Tone Scales - WT[0] & WT[1]](https://octavebox.wpengine.com/media/whole-tone-scales.jpg "Whole Tone Scales - WT[0] & WT[1]")
The whole-tone scale is frequently used to create a dreamy or wandering atmosphere. Each step of the scale is exactly the same as any other, making a directionless quality is inherent to the construction of the scale.
This scale is sometimes called the augmented scale because it is also the chord scale for augmented chords. This is discussed further in the articles on Harmony. Each of the two whole-tone scales is made up internally of two augmented triads a whole step apart.
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