STRINGSCALES

C♯ locrian Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D, E at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12

A string: A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G, A at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12

D string: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12

G string: G, A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12

B string: B, C#, D, E, F#, G, A, B at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

High E string: E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D, E at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12

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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°

C♯dim
D

bII

Dmaj
E

biii

Em
F♯

iv

F♯m
G

bV

Gmaj
A

bVI

Amaj
B

bvii

Bm

Characteristic notes: G (b5) and D (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.

D major · relative majorE dorianF# phrygianG lydianA mixolydianB minor · relative minor

locrian in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Use C# locrian over m7b5 chords: arpeggiate root, bIII (E), bV (G), bVII (B) first so the ear accepts the flat 5th as a chord tone.
  • The flat 2nd (D) against the root and the flat 5th (G) 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 (E) over the same m7b5 chord; if the b2 (D) clashes with the bass, that natural 2nd is the fix.

How to play C♯ locrian on guitar

All six open strings belong to this key, so any of them can ring under a fretted line without clashing. None of them is the root, though. Capo at fret 1 and the C locrian fingerings map straight across, which means transposing costs nothing. Roots start at fret 9 on the low E and again at fret 4 on the A, giving you two anchors before box one ends at fret 13.

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