Bb Locrian: Fretboard Guide
The Bb Locrian scale is Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb and Ab. Cb and Fb are only B and E in disguise, so if your chart uses sharps you can read the same notes as A# Locrian. The shapes never change.
The root nearest the nut is on the 1st fret of the A string, and the 6th fret of the low E string gives a second place to start. Because the mode builds a diminished chord on its tonic, playing scales over chords is the natural next step.
Play the Bb locrian scale
Use the step menu in the player to switch between the single-string run and the box shapes.
Notes of the Bb locrian scale
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones from root |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bb | 1 | Root | 0 |
| Cb | b2 | Minor 2nd | 1 |
| Db | b3 | Minor 3rd | 3 |
| Eb | 4 | Perfect 4th | 5 |
| Fb | b5 | Tritone | 6 |
| Gb | b6 | Minor 6th | 8 |
| Ab | b7 | Minor 7th | 10 |
Structure
Bb locrian scale notes:
How the locrian scale is built:
The locrian scale is built from the degrees 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7, which gives the step pattern H-W-W-H-W-W-W (W = whole step, H = half step).
Counting in semitones from the root: 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10. That makes it a 7-note scale.
It is mode 7 of the Major Scale, so both scales share the same notes from a different starting point.
Bb Locrian Scale Guitar Patterns
Static diagrams of every position shown in the player above.
On one string (A)
Box pattern — position 1
Box pattern — position 2
Box pattern — position 3
Box pattern — position 4
Box pattern — position 5
3 notes per string — position 1
3 notes per string — position 2
3 notes per string — position 3
3 notes per string — position 4
3 notes per string — position 5
Chords in the Bb locrian scale
Stacking thirds on each degree of the scale gives these chords.
Related modes
These scales share the same notes as the locrian scale, starting from a different degree.
The locrian scale in other keys
Created by
Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher
