STRINGSCALES

D locrian pentatonic Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F, G, Ab, C, D at frets 1, 3, 4, 8, 10

A string: C, D, F, G, Ab at frets 3, 5, 8, 10, 11

D string: D, F, G, Ab, C, D at frets 0, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12

G string: G, Ab, C, D, F, G at frets 0, 1, 5, 7, 10, 12

B string: C, D, F, G, Ab at frets 1, 3, 6, 8, 9

High E string: F, G, Ab, C, D at frets 1, 3, 4, 8, 10

Pick a root note

Pick a scale

D locrian pentatonic

The locrian pentatonic is the minor pentatonic with its 5th flattened: root, flat 3rd, 4th, flat 5th, flat 7th. It spells a m7b5 chord plus the 4th, making it the quickest route to a half-diminished sound in familiar pentatonic fingering. Use it over the ii chord in a minor ii-V, or for deliberately unresolved riffing.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

D

I

F

bIII

G

IV

A♭

bV

C

bVII

Same notes, different mode

D locrian pentatonic 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.

F flat three pentatonicG in-sen

locrian pentatonic in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • A m7b5 chord plus the 4th: root, b3 (F), IV, b5 (Ab), b7 (C); the quickest half-diminished vocabulary in a familiar pentatonic grip.
  • It is the minor pentatonic with the 5th lowered: shift that one finger and every box you know turns half-diminished.
  • Over the ii chord of a minor ii-V in the key a whole step below D, this is the pocket-size choice.
  • Use the b5 (Ab) as a landing tone here (unlike in the blues scale); over m7b5 harmony it is a chord tone, not a passing note.

How to play D locrian pentatonic on guitar

Open D is the root and open G the fourth, so a pedal sits ready on both before you fret a thing. Aside from that open D at 0, the closest root to the nut is fret 3 on the B string, which puts box one itself up at fret 10. Roots also sit at 5 on the A and 7 on the G. Low E fret 10 matches that open D.

homeall scalesaboutfaqpricingmicrotonalterms & conditionsprivacy policycookie policy© 2026 StringScales. All rights reserved.