C# Locrian scale
- Notes
- C# D E F# G A B
- 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 C#4 to C#5, the root in blue-green.
Intervals from C#
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| C# | 1 | root | 0 |
| D | b2 | minor second | 1 |
| E | b3 | minor third | 3 |
| F# | 4 | perfect fourth | 5 |
| G | b5 | diminished fifth | 6 |
| A | b6 | minor sixth | 8 |
| B | 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° | C#dim | C# E G | |
| bII | D | D F# A | |
| biii | Em | E G B | |
| iv | F#m | F# A C# | |
| bV | G | G B D | |
| bVI | A | A C# E | |
| bvii | Bm | B D F# |
Seventh chords
Same notes, different home note
C# Locrian uses exactly the same notes as D major, E Dorian, F# Phrygian, G Lydian, A Mixolydian and B 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 D 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 D and G# becomes G. It has the same notes as D major, played from its 7th note. Because its 5th is flattened, the chord on its root is diminished (C#dim), which is unstable, so whole songs are rarely in Locrian. Jazz players use it over the half-diminished chord C#m7b5.
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.