A locrian scale for guitar
Fretboard fingerings, formula, and notes of the A locrian scale (1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7) on guitar: A · A# · C · D · D# · F · G.
Instrument
Scale
Root
Position
Frets15
1224
Chord
A Locrian
1b2b34b5b6b7
E
B
G
D
A
E
Scroll horizontally to see the whole fretboard
Legend
1
A
· Root
b2
A#
· characteristic note
b3
C
· Third
4
D
· Tension
b5
D#
· characteristic note
b6
F
· Tension
b7
G
· Seventh
Scale sheet
A LocrianFormula (degrees)
1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7
Notes in key
A A# C D D# F G
Typical use
Over m7b5 (half-diminished).
Locrian
Locrian is the seventh mode of the major scale: a minor scale with a minor second and a diminished fifth. Its two characteristic notes (♭2 and ♭5) make it the most unstable of the seven modes, and it's the natural scale over half-diminished (m7♭5) chords.
Notes of the A locrian scale: A · A# · C · D · D# · F · G.