B♭ LocrianScale

Formula

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

B♭ Locrian on the chromatic circle

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

B♭ 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 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6
Harmony

Chords in B♭ 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°B♭m7♭5B♭ D♭ F♭ A♭
♭IIC♭maj7C♭ E♭ G♭ B♭
♭iiiD♭m7D♭ F♭ A♭ C♭
ivE♭m7E♭ G♭ B♭ D♭
♭VF♭maj7F♭ A♭ C♭ E♭
♭VIG♭7G♭ B♭ D♭ F♭
♭viiA♭m7A♭ C♭ E♭ G♭
Context

Where B♭ 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.

B♭ 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

B♭ Locrian scale questions

What notes are in the B♭ Locrian scale?

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

What is the B♭ 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 B♭ Locrian scale on guitar?

This page draws every note of B♭ 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 A shape to the G shape to the E shape to the D shape to the C shape.

What chords are in the B♭ Locrian scale?

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

When is the B♭ 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.