E Locrian: Open Strings and a Flat 5th
E, F, G, A, Bb, C and D spell the E Locrian scale. Open low E and open high E give you the tonic, and the Bb above is the flat 5th that gives the mode its unstable feel.
Higher up, the root is on the 7th fret of the A string. These seven notes are also F major, so you can think of it as F major with the tonic moved down a half step. See two notes per string patterns for a compact way to play it.
Play the E locrian scale
Use the step menu in the player to switch between the single-string run and the box shapes.
Notes of the E locrian scale
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones from root |
|---|---|---|---|
| E | 1 | Root | 0 |
| F | b2 | Minor 2nd | 1 |
| G | b3 | Minor 3rd | 3 |
| A | 4 | Perfect 4th | 5 |
| Bb | b5 | Tritone | 6 |
| C | b6 | Minor 6th | 8 |
| D | b7 | Minor 7th | 10 |
Structure
E 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.
E Locrian Scale Guitar Patterns
Static diagrams of every position shown in the player above.
On one string (low E)
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 E 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
