C LocrianScale
Formula
C Locrian on the chromatic circle
C Locrian is the 7th mode of the Major family. Pick another note on the circle to open the scale that starts there.
C 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.
Chords in C Locrian
Stack every other note of the scale from each degree and you get its chords. Open any of them in the chord library.
Where C 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.
C 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
C Locrian scale questions
What notes are in the C Locrian scale?
C D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭ B♭. As degrees from the root: 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7.
What is the C 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 C Locrian scale on guitar?
This page draws every note of C 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 C shape to the A shape to the G shape to the E shape to the D shape.
What chords are in the C Locrian scale?
Cm7♭5 (i°), D♭maj7 (♭II), E♭m7 (♭iii), Fm7 (iv), G♭maj7 (♭V), A♭7 (♭VI), B♭m7 (♭vii).
When is the C 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.