Often confused with the Whole Tone scale, the Augmented scale is another synthetic scale which is made up of a repeating pattern of intervals. It contains the Tonic , major 3rd and augmented 5th intervals , which is similar to the Whole Tone scale , however the scale formula is quite different. It is made from alternating minor 3rd and minor 2nd intervals, or minor 3rds with semitones in between.
Its primary use is as the improvising scale for augmented chords, but due to its symmetrical nature, this scale can be used to create many intervallic patterns that can add interest to any solo. Note that there are really only 4 augmented scales, as the notes will repeat themselves after moving up or down the neck every 4 frets, the same as augmented chords.
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