C Locrian scale
- Notes
- C Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb
- Formula
- 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7
- Steps
- H W W H W W W (W tone, H semitone)
- Also called
- C Locrian mode
Seven notes from C up to the next C. Each note is written with the letter its degree names, one letter each, so the spelling follows the formula.
C Locrian on the piano
From C4 to C5, the root in blue-green.
Intervals from C
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | 1 | root | 0 |
| Db | b2 | minor second | 1 |
| Eb | b3 | minor third | 3 |
| F | 4 | perfect fourth | 5 |
| Gb | b5 | diminished fifth | 6 |
| Ab | b6 | minor sixth | 8 |
| Bb | b7 | minor seventh | 10 |
C Locrian on the guitar
Standard tuning, high e on top as in tablature, open strings to fret 12. Every dot is a note of the scale; the pattern repeats from fret 12 up.
The seven chords of C Locrian
Every other note of the scale stacked on each note. Numerals are measured against the major scale on C, so a b marks a chord root a semitone lower than in major.
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i° | Cdim | C Eb Gb | |
| bII | Db | Db F Ab | |
| biii | Ebm | Eb Gb Bb | |
| iv | Fm | F Ab C | |
| bV | Gb (same notes, spelled F# on its chord page) | Gb Bb Db | |
| bVI | Ab | Ab C Eb | |
| bvii | Bbm | Bb Db F |
Seventh chords
Same notes, different home note
C Locrian uses exactly the same notes as Db major, Eb Dorian, F Phrygian, Gb Lydian, Ab Mixolydian and Bb natural minor. What changes is the note the music keeps returning to, and with it which chord sounds like home.
Same notes as the key of Db major: the chords are the same seven, but with C as home.
How C Locrian is built
Locrian has a minor 2nd and a diminished 5th: against C natural minor, D becomes Db and G becomes Gb. It has the same notes as Db major, played from its 7th note. Because its 5th is flattened, the chord on its root is diminished (Cdim), which is unstable, so whole songs are rarely in Locrian. Jazz players use it over the half-diminished chord Cm7b5.
Played some notes and not sure which scale they come from? The scale finder listens to the piano, a MIDI keyboard or the microphone and ranks all 180 scales.
What this page cannot do
- One spelling per scale. the root is spelled the way that needs the fewest sharps and flats.
- Equal temperament only. Blues and many folk traditions bend notes between these pitches, and Arabic and Turkish maqam scales use quarter tones that a piano cannot play.
- The guitar diagram shows standard tuning only and does not suggest fingerings; any note can be played in several places.
- The sound is a simple synthesised tone made in your browser, not a recorded instrument.