Chord Colors

C♯ Locrian #2 scale

357912

About the C sharp Locrian #2 scale

C sharp Locrian #2 is used for jazz soloing over half-diminished chords. Think of it as a locrian scale rescued a little by a natural second. It is C Natural Minor with the fifth lowered.

Its notes are C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The formula is W H W H W W W. It is the sixth mode of E Melodic Minor Ascending.

Also called Half-Diminished and Aeolian 5.

Learn more about the C♯ Locrian #2 scale

An unfretted guitar already sounds E, A, G, and B from this mode. The lowest C on a standard-tuned guitar sits at the 4th fret of the A string. Capo the first fret to play C Locrian 2 with C-shape fingerings.

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.

C shapefr 1
A shapefr 3
G shapefr 6
E shapefr 8
D shapefr 10
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.

Shape 1open
Shape 2fr 2
Shape 3fr 3
Shape 4fr 5
Shape 5fr 7
Shape 6fr 9
Shape 7fr 10
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.

Position 1open
Position 2fr 2
Position 3fr 3
Position 4fr 5
Position 5fr 7
Position 6fr 9
Position 7fr 11

Chords in the key of C sharp Locrian #2

Expand a chord to see how to play it.

C sharp diminished
Position 1 of 4
ii° D sharp diminished
Position 1 of 4
iii E minor
Position 1 of 4
iv F sharp minor
Position 1 of 4
V+ G augmented
Position 1 of 4
VI A
Position 1 of 4
VII B
Position 1 of 4

Seventh chords in C sharp Locrian #2

The four-note version of each chord, richer and jazzier.

C sharp minor seven flat five
Position 1 of 4
4fr
ii° D sharp minor seven flat five
Position 1 of 4
iii E minor major seven
Position 1 of 4
iv F sharp minor seven
Position 1 of 4
V+ G major seven sharp five
Position 1 of 4
VI A seven
Position 1 of 4
VII B seven
Position 1 of 4

Notes and intervals

1C#C♯Root
2D#D♯Major 2nd
3EEMinor 3rd
4F#F♯Perfect 4th
5GGDiminished 5th
6AAMinor 6th
7BBMinor 7th
StepsW H W H W W W
Semitones2-1-2-1-2-2-2
Degrees1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Shapes

Chromatic

CC♯D♭DD♯E♭EFF♯G♭GG♯A♭AA♯B♭B

Circle of Fifths

CGDAEBF♯G♭C♯D♭G♯A♭D♯E♭A♯B♭F

Related scales

Locrian #2 in other keys

Modes

The same notes, starting on a different note.

Embed this scale

Paste the snippet into a lesson page, a blog or a forum post. The card links back here.

Db Locrian #2 scale on guitar shown as colored note dots
Chord Colors

There's so much more to explore

Explore on the go. Over 150 chord progressions, modal mixture, build your own progressions, and more!

Try web version iOS app
Chord Colors on iPhone showing chords, guitar voicings, progressions, and scales