A♭ LocrianScale

Formula

H W W H W W W 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
The family

A♭ Locrian on the chromatic circle

A♭ Locrian is the 7th mode of the Major family. Pick another note on the circle to open the scale that starts there.

W W H W W W H ♭2 B𝄫I Ionian ♭3 C♭II Dorian 4 D♭III Phrygian ♭5 E𝄫IV Lydian ♭6 F♭V Mixolydian ♭7 G♭VI Aeolian 1 A♭VII Locrian A♭ Locrian
The whole neck

A♭ Locrian across the fretboard

Every note of the scale up to the 16th fret, named by its degree. The root is a ring. Step through the five CAGED positions one at a time in the scale library.

3 5 7 9 12 15 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Harmony

Chords in A♭ Locrian

Stack every other note of the scale from each degree and you get its chords. Open any of them in the chord library.

DegreeChordNotes
i°A♭m7♭5A♭ C♭ E𝄫 G♭
♭IIB𝄫maj7B𝄫 D♭ F♭ A♭
♭iiiC♭m7C♭ E𝄫 G♭ B𝄫
ivD♭m7D♭ F♭ A♭ C♭
♭VE𝄫maj7E𝄫 G♭ B𝄫 D♭
♭VIF♭7F♭ A♭ C♭ E𝄫
♭viiG♭m7G♭ B𝄫 D♭ F♭
Context

Where A♭ Locrian fits

The darkest mode, built on a diminished chord: over m7♭5 chords in jazz and in some metal riffs. Rarely a home key.

A♭ Locrian is mode 7 of the major family. The same notes played from each of its other degrees give the family's other modes:

Move one note by a half step and you get a different scale:

Locrian scale in every key

A♭ Locrian scale questions

What notes are in the A♭ Locrian scale?

A♭ B𝄫 C♭ D♭ E𝄫 F♭ G♭. As degrees from the root: 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7.

What is the A♭ Locrian scale formula?

1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7, or in steps between the notes, H W W H W W W (W is a whole step of two frets, H a half step of one fret, 1½ three frets).

How do you play the A♭ Locrian scale on guitar?

This page draws every note of A♭ Locrian up to the 16th fret, each named by its degree with the root as a ring. To learn it a few frets at a time, open it in the scale library and step through its five CAGED positions, from the G shape to the E shape to the D shape to the C shape to the A shape.

What chords are in the A♭ Locrian scale?

A♭m7♭5 (i°), B𝄫maj7 (♭II), C♭m7 (♭iii), D♭m7 (iv), E𝄫maj7 (♭V), F♭7 (♭VI), G♭m7 (♭vii).

When is the A♭ Locrian scale used?

The darkest mode, built on a diminished chord: over m7♭5 chords in jazz and in some metal riffs. Rarely a home key.