C Locrian Scale

C locrian

Notes

C · D♭ · E♭ · F · G♭ · A♭ · B♭

Intervals

  • RootC (1P)
  • Minor 2ndD♭ (2m)
  • Minor 3rdE♭ (3m)
  • Perfect 4thF (4P)
  • Diminished 5thG♭ (5d)
  • Minor 6thA♭ (6m)
  • Minor 7thB♭ (7m)

Fretboard

EBGDAE357912FG♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭FG♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭CD♭B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭FG♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭
Open in visualizer →

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

Modal character

C Locrian is the 7th mode of D♭ 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 1frets 1–6
EBGDAE357FG♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭
Pattern 2frets 2–8
EBGDAE3579G♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭C
Pattern 3frets 4–9
EBGDAE579A♭B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭CD♭
Pattern 4frets 6–11
EBGDAE7912B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭
Pattern 5frets 8–13
EBGDAE9121314CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭F
Pattern 6frets 9–14
EBGDAE912131415D♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭FG♭
Pattern 7frets 11–16
EBGDAE121314151617E♭FG♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭

Quartal voicings

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

All voicings
EBGDAE3FB♭E♭A♭
F root
EBGDAE3B♭E♭A♭D♭
Bb root
EBGDAE3E♭A♭D♭G♭
Eb root
EBGDAE79B♭E♭A♭D♭
Bb root
EBGDAE35CFB♭E♭
C root
EBGDAE35FB♭E♭A♭
F root
EBGDAE9CFB♭E♭
C root
EBGDAE79E♭A♭D♭G♭
Eb root
EBGDAE9B♭E♭A♭D♭
Bb root
EBGDAE121314E♭A♭D♭G♭
Eb root
EBGDAE9FB♭E♭A♭
F root
EBGDAE1213CFB♭E♭
C root

Diagrams

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

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