Common
About the A Locrian scale
A Locrian is used for jazz soloing over half-diminished chords and tense, dissonant passages. Think of it as the most unstable mode of all, restless and unresolved. It is A Phrygian with the fifth lowered.
Its notes are A, B♭, C, D, E♭, F, and G. The formula is H W W H W W W. It is the seventh mode of B♭ Major.
An unfretted guitar already sounds A, D, and G from this mode. On guitar, the deepest A rings from the open A string. The first three frets carry a complete octave of A Locrian, a genuine open-position shape.
Positions
Playable shapes for this scale up the neck. Tap any note to hear it.
CAGED
Five shapes, each anchored to a chord form you already know, the pop and rock default that ties your scales to your chords. The outlined notes are that chord, so you can see the C, A, G, E, and D shapes inside the scale.
3NPS
3NPS stands for 3 notes per string. It lays the scale out in seven even shapes for rock and metal lead, and favors speed because the picking pattern stays consistent across every string.
7-position system
7 four-fret boxes, one per scale degree, each a single hand position with almost no shifting. The jazz and classical way, from William Leavitt's Berklee method.
Chords in the key of A Locrian
Expand a chord to see how to play it.
Position 1 of 4
Position 1 of 4
Position 1 of 4
Position 1 of 4
Position 1 of 4
Position 1 of 4
Position 1 of 4
Seventh chords in A Locrian
The four-note version of each chord, richer and jazzier.
Position 1 of 4
Position 1 of 4
Position 1 of 4
Position 1 of 4
Position 1 of 4
Position 1 of 4
Position 1 of 4
Progressions in A Locrian
Tap any chord to hear it, or play the whole progression.
Notes and intervals
| 1 | AA | Root |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | BbB♭ | Minor 2nd |
| 3 | CC | Minor 3rd |
| 4 | DD | Perfect 4th |
| 5 | EbE♭ | Diminished 5th |
| 6 | FF | Minor 6th |
| 7 | GG | Minor 7th |
| Steps | H W W H W W W |
|---|---|
| Semitones | 1-2-2-1-2-2-2 |
| Degrees | 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 |
Shapes
Chromatic
Circle of Fifths
Related scales
Locrian in other keys
C Locrian scaleD flat Locrian scaleD Locrian scaleE flat Locrian scaleE Locrian scaleF Locrian scaleG flat Locrian scaleG Locrian scaleA flat Locrian scaleB flat Locrian scaleB Locrian scale
Modes
The same notes, starting on a different note.
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