STRINGSCALES

C locrian Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb at frets 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11

A string: Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab at frets 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11

D string: Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, Db at frets 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11

G string: Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, Gb at frets 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11

B string: C, Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb at frets 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11

High E string: F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb at frets 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11

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C 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:

C

i°

Cdim
D♭

bII

D♭maj
E♭

biii

E♭m
F

iv

Fm
G♭

bV

G♭maj
A♭

bVI

A♭maj
B♭

bvii

B♭m

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

Same notes, different mode

C 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.

Db major · relative majorEb dorianF phrygianGb lydianAb mixolydianBb minor · relative minor

locrian in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

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

How to play C locrian on guitar

Every note here is fretted, and the root closest to the nut waits at fret 1 on the B string. Fret 8 on the low E holds the lowest root and the E-shape barre both, so chord and single-note work share one hand position. Box one ends at fret 12. Five flats sit in the signature, and DbM is the bII chord, which lets you frame the key with a major triad a semitone above the tonic.

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