Locrian Mode
The unstable one — a ♭2 and a ♭5 mean it has no stable home chord.
2 fretboard positions in standard tuning, low string on the left. Every dot is a note of the scale and the number inside it is the scale degree, so you can see the shape and the theory at once.
root notescale notenumbers inside the dots are scale degrees
Box 1
Open position
When to use it: It lands in open position for this key, so the open strings carry the low notes — easy to play, but the one shape you cannot slide to another key. Root on the 6th string. Learn this one first — matching the root to a fret is all it takes to move the shape to any key.
Box 2
Frets 7–10
When to use it: Root on the 5th string. Use it when the tonic is easier to find on the A string, or when you want the scale to sit higher.
7 notes, built off E with the formula 1 · ♭2 · ♭3 · 4 · ♭5 · ♭6 · ♭7. Locrian's tonic triad is diminished, so the scale cannot resolve to itself. In practice it turns up over m7♭5 chords rather than as a key of its own.
Stack every other note of the scale and you get its seven diatonic chords. These are the chords that sound at home over this scale — a progression made only of these will never leave the key.
| Degree | Chord | Notes | Seventh | Function |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i° | Edim | E G B♭ | Em7♭5 | tonic — everything resolves here |
| II | F | F A C | Fmaj7 | supertonic — a bright, borrowed pre-dominant |
| iii | Gm | G B♭ D | Gm7 | mediant — a soft substitute for the tonic |
| iv | Am | A C E | Am7 | subdominant — the wistful, minor version of the lift away |
| V | B♭ | B♭ D F | B♭maj7 | dominant — wants to resolve home |
| VI | C | C E G | C7 | submediant — the relative major's home |
| vii | Dm | D F A | Dm7 | subtonic — a whole step below home, no pull |
Scales are not islands. Same notes, different home note gives you the relative scale; same home note, different notes gives you the parallel.
Matching key
Key of E MinorThe key page has the full diatonic table, the common progressions, and every chord in the key with diagrams.
The other modes of these notes
The E Locrian mode has 7 notes: E, F, G, A, Bb, C, D. The interval formula is 1–♭2–♭3–4–♭5–♭6–♭7, counted up from E.
The E Locrian mode builds seven diatonic chords: i° Edim, II F, iii Gm, iv Am, V Bb, VI C, vii Dm.
Start with Position 1 (6th-string root) in open position. It lands in open position for this key, so the open strings carry the low notes — easy to play, but the one shape you cannot slide to another key. Root on the 6th string. Learn this one first — matching the root to a fret is all it takes to move the shape to any key.
The patterns above get your fingers moving. These explain what the notes are actually doing, so you can use the scale instead of just running it.
8 min read
Modes Explained — Ionian Through LocrianWhich parent scale this mode rotates out of, and where its flavour comes from.
5 min read
Major and Minor Scales — Built from Intervals, Felt in SongsModes are re-centred majors and minors. Get the two originals straight first.
6 min read
Key Signatures: Read Any Key in Two SecondsA mode borrows its signature. This is how to work out which one.