Locrian mode: notes, sound and examples

Locrian is the seventh and last of the modes, and it is the one that sounds least settled. It has a lowered second, like Phrygian, and a lowered fifth. The lowered fifth is the problem: the chord built on the tonic is a diminished chord, not a stable major or minor chord, so Locrian pieces rarely stay in the mode for long.

The Locrian formula

In steps, Locrian is half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole: H-W-W-H-W-W-W. As scale degrees it is 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7. Compared with natural minor, two notes change: the second and the fifth are lowered. Compared with the major scale on the same note, five notes are lowered.

The characteristic notes are the lowered second and the lowered fifth. The lowered fifth is a tritone above the tonic.

Why is Locrian unstable?

A mode feels like home when the tonic chord is strong. In most modes the tonic chord is major or minor, and the fifth above the root is perfect. In Locrian, the notes of the tonic chord are 1 ♭3 ♭5, which is a diminished chord. A diminished chord sounds tense and wants to move on. That is why Locrian is more of a color than a home key.

How to build Locrian in any key

1. Write the natural minor scale of the tonic.
2. Lower the second and the fifth by a half step.
3. Or: find the major scale a half step above your tonic, and play its notes starting from your tonic.

B Locrian uses the notes of C major, because B is the seventh note of C major. C Locrian uses the notes of D♭ major. E Locrian uses the notes of F major.

How it sounds

Locrian sounds dark, unsettled and a little uneasy. With no stable fifth, it never feels fully at rest. Because of that, it appears much less in everyday songs than the other modes, and a lot of players treat it as a scale to use over one particular chord, not as a key.

Where you use Locrian

Jazz players use Locrian over the half-diminished chord, written m7♭5, such as B half-diminished (B D F A). Every note of B Locrian fits that chord. It also appears in metal and some film music, where its tense, edgy sound is wanted. A few rock and metal riffs sit on a low note with a flat second and flat fifth above it. The half-diminished chord page covers the chord.

• Use it over a half-diminished seventh chord.
• Try it on a drone to hear how unsettled it is.
• Compare it with Phrygian, and find the one note that is lower in Locrian.

Locrian in practice

To hear Locrian, play a B diminished chord (B D F), and then play the notes of B Locrian over it. Notice that the scale never settles. The chord, and the scale around it, want to move on to another chord.

A useful way to put the scale to work is to play it over a half-diminished seventh chord, which is the chord that sits on the seventh degree of a major scale. In the key of C major, that chord is B half-diminished, and B Locrian is the scale that fits it. This is a common move in jazz, where the chord leads to the dominant chord of the key.

One more thing to try

Play the notes of B Locrian slowly, one at a time, and stop on each one to listen to how it relates to the low B. The F, which is the lowered fifth, is the note that sounds the most unsettled. Compare it with the F♯ of B Aeolian, a perfect fifth above the root, and hear the difference at once.

Locrian is the darkest end of the ladder. The brightest end is Lydian, and all the modes shows the full order.

Locrian scale in every key

Check yourself

Related pages

• Music modes: the seven modes explained
• Phrygian mode: notes, sound and examples
• Diminished chord: what it is and how to build it
• Half-diminished chord: the m7♭5 explained
• Tritone: the interval of six half steps
• Lydian mode: notes, sound and examples