D♭ LocrianScale

Formula

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

D♭ Locrian on the chromatic circle

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

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

Chords in D♭ 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°D♭m7♭5D♭ F♭ A𝄫 C♭
♭IIE𝄫maj7E𝄫 G♭ B𝄫 D♭
♭iiiF♭m7F♭ A𝄫 C♭ E𝄫
ivG♭m7G♭ B𝄫 D♭ F♭
♭VA𝄫maj7A𝄫 C♭ E𝄫 G♭
♭VIB𝄫7B𝄫 D♭ F♭ A𝄫
♭viiC♭m7C♭ E𝄫 G♭ B𝄫
Context

Where D♭ 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.

D♭ 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

D♭ Locrian scale questions

What notes are in the D♭ Locrian scale?

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

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

This page draws every note of D♭ 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 D♭ Locrian scale?

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

When is the D♭ 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.