F# Locrian scale
- Notes
- F# G A B C D E
- Formula
- 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7
- Steps
- H W W H W W W (W tone, H semitone)
- Also called
- F# Locrian mode
Seven notes from F# up to the next F#. Each note is written with the letter its degree names, one letter each, so the spelling follows the formula.
F# Locrian on the piano
From F#4 to F#5, the root in blue-green.
Intervals from F#
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| F# | 1 | root | 0 |
| G | b2 | minor second | 1 |
| A | b3 | minor third | 3 |
| B | 4 | perfect fourth | 5 |
| C | b5 | diminished fifth | 6 |
| D | b6 | minor sixth | 8 |
| E | b7 | minor seventh | 10 |
F# 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 F# Locrian
Every other note of the scale stacked on each note. Numerals are measured against the major scale on F#, so a b marks a chord root a semitone lower than in major.
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i° | F#dim | F# A C | |
| bII | G | G B D | |
| biii | Am | A C E | |
| iv | Bm | B D F# | |
| bV | C | C E G | |
| bVI | D | D F# A | |
| bvii | Em | E G B |
Seventh chords
Same notes, different home note
F# Locrian uses exactly the same notes as C Lydian, D Mixolydian, E natural minor, G major, A Dorian and B Phrygian. What changes is the note the music keeps returning to, and with it which chord sounds like home.
Same notes as the key of G major: the chords are the same seven, but with F# as home.
How F# Locrian is built
Locrian has a minor 2nd and a diminished 5th: against F# natural minor, G# becomes G and C# becomes C. It has the same notes as G major, played from its 7th note. Because its 5th is flattened, the chord on its root is diminished (F#dim), which is unstable, so whole songs are rarely in Locrian. Jazz players use it over the half-diminished chord F#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.