B Locrian Scale

B locrian

Notes

B · C · D · E · F · G · A

Intervals

  • RootB (1P)
  • Minor 2ndC (2m)
  • Minor 3rdD (3m)
  • Perfect 4thE (4P)
  • Diminished 5thF (5d)
  • Minor 6thG (6m)
  • Minor 7thA (7m)

Fretboard

EBGDAE357912EFGABCDEBCDEFGABGABCDEFGDEFGABCDABCDEFGAEFGABCDE
Open in visualizer →

Adjust labels, frets, and palette in the interactive view.

Modal character

B Locrian is the 7th mode of C Major — the same seven notes started from its 7th degree.

1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7

Characteristic note — flat 5th (♭5). The ♭5 makes Locrian the only mode built on a diminished tonic triad — the most unstable of the seven and rarely used as a key center.

Locrian is the mode of the half-diminished (m7♭5) chord and is most useful over the iiø of a minor ii–V–i. Its restless quality comes from the ♭2 and ♭5 that frame the root.

Chords that use this mode

3-Notes-Per-String positions

Seven movable patterns, each covering all 6 strings with 3 consecutive scale tones per string. Root notes are shown in red.

All 7 patterns
Pattern 1open · frets 0–5
EBGDAE35EFGABCDEFGABCDEFGA
Pattern 2frets 1–7
EBGDAE357FGABCDEFGABCDEFGAB
Pattern 3frets 3–8
EBGDAE3579GABCDEFGABCDEFGABC
Pattern 4frets 5–10
EBGDAE579ABCDEFGABCDEFGABCD
Pattern 5frets 7–12
EBGDAE791213BCDEFGABCDEFGABCDE
Pattern 6frets 8–13
EBGDAE9121314CDEFGABCDEFGABCDEF
Pattern 7frets 10–15
EBGDAE1213141516DEFGABCDEFGABCDEFG

Quartal voicings

Stacked perfect 4ths across four adjacent strings, sorted nut to heel. Root notes are circled in red.

All voicings
EBGDAE3EADG
E root
EBGDAE3ADGC
A root
EBGDAE3DGCF
D root
EBGDAE57ADGC
A root
EBGDAE35BEAD
B root
EBGDAE35EADG
E root
EBGDAE79BEAD
B root
EBGDAE57DGCF
D root
EBGDAE79ADGC
A root
EBGDAE1213DGCF
D root
EBGDAE79EADG
E root
EBGDAE912BEAD
B root

Diagrams

B Locrian Scale fretboard charts — tap any diagram to open it full size to save or print.

B Locrian Scale — notes B, C, D, E, F, G, A shown across the full guitar fretboard, frets 0 to 12.
Whole neck — frets 0–12
B Locrian Scale — seven 3-notes-per-string positions shown as fretboard neck slices.
Seven 3NPS positions
B Locrian Scale — quartal voicings shown as chord-box diagrams for all four roots.
Quartal voicings — 3 string sets, sorted nut to heel