STRINGSCALES

B♭ locrian Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, Fb at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12

A string: Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab at frets 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11

D string: Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db at frets 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11

G string: Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb at frets 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11

B string: Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12

High E string: Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, Fb at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12

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Bb locrian

The locrian mode flattens the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th, leaving a diminished chord on the root: the only mode of the major scale with no stable home. That instability is the point. Use it over half-diminished (m7b5) chords in minor ii-V progressions, or in metal where its tritone-against-root tension is a feature rather than a problem.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

B♭

i°

B♭dim
C♭

bII

C♭maj
D♭

biii

D♭m
E♭

iv

E♭m
F♭

bV

F♭maj
G♭

bVI

G♭maj
A♭

bvii

A♭m

Characteristic notes: E (b5) and B (b2), the flat five and flat two that give locrian its unstable, diminished character.

Same notes, different mode

Bb locrian uses the same notes as the scales below. Start from a different note and you get a new mode built on the very same note set.

Cb major · relative majorDb dorianEb phrygianFb lydianGb mixolydianAb minor · relative minor

locrian in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Use Bb locrian over m7b5 chords: arpeggiate root, bIII (Db), bV (E), bVII (Ab) first so the ear accepts the flat 5th as a chord tone.
  • The flat 2nd (B) against the root and the flat 5th (E) against open strings are the darkest intervals here; metal riffs live on exactly those.
  • Resolve somewhere: Bb locrian phrases work best leading into the chord a half step below Bb or into the relative major a half step above the root.
  • Compare with locrian #2 (C#) over the same m7b5 chord; if the b2 (B) clashes with the bass, that natural 2nd is the fix.

How to play B♭ locrian on guitar

Fret 1 on the A string puts a root right at the nut, and the A-shape barre starts there too, so the chord and the scale share the same first position. Three open strings fall in the key. Lowest root is at fret 6 on the sixth string, which means the E-shape barre falls there and the second box begins at fret 10. Seven flats make a capo at fret 1 worth trying, since the shapes then read as A locrian.

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