Scales
Bb Locrian Scale
Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab
The seventh mode — a diminished fifth above the tonic, and the only mode with no stable home chord.
Bb Locrian Scale
Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab
Fingering on the piano
| Hand | Fingering | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 | Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab · Bb | |
| Left hand | 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 | Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab · Bb |
One octave ascending; 1 is the thumb. A standard fingering, not the only one.
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Scale degrees
Bb Locrian is made of the notes Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab. Each is a degree counted from the tonic, and the gaps between them are the step pattern H W W H W W W.
Read on: scale degrees · building any scale
Chords in this key
Stacking thirds on each degree of Bb Locrian gives the chords of the key; the roman numeral names the degree each is built on.
Triads
Related scales
The scales Bb Locrian shares its notes with: the one it is a rotation of, the relative and parallel keys, the scales inside it and the ones that contain it.
A# LocrianA# · B · C# · D# · E · F# · G#
The same sound, spelled from the enharmonic root
Scales inside it
Bb IwatoBb · Cb · Eb · Fb · Ab
Every note of this scale is in Bb Locrian.
Bb Malkos RagaBb · Db · Eb · Gb · Ab
Every note of this scale is in Bb Locrian.
Bb Locrian PentatonicBb · Db · Eb · Fb · Ab
Every note of this scale is in Bb Locrian.
Scales that contain it
Bb Bebop LocrianBb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · F · Gb · Ab
Contains every note of Bb Locrian.
Bb ChromaticBb · Cb · C · Db · D · Eb · Fb · F · Gb · G · Ab · A
Contains every note of Bb Locrian.
Understanding Bb Locrian
Names and spellings
A mode is named by the note it starts on, not by the major scale it comes from: D Dorian uses the notes of C major, but its tonic is D and its chords are built from D. The same mode name on another tonic is a different scale with the same pattern.
Bb Locrian and A# Locrian are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. A# Locrian
How it is built
On Bb the mode is Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab, following the step pattern H W W H W W W. It has both a flattened second and, crucially, a flattened fifth.
That flattened fifth is what sets it apart from every other mode. The chord on its first degree is diminished, so the scale has no consonant tonic to rest on.
How it is used
Rarely as a key, often as a colour: it is the scale over a half-diminished chord, which makes it the natural choice for the ii of a minor ii–V–i.
Jazz players more often use locrian ♮2 — the sixth mode of melodic minor — in that role, because raising the second removes the one note that clashes hardest with the chord.
Learn this properly
Chapter 9: ModesCommon questions
- What notes are in Bb Locrian?
- Bb Locrian contains Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab. Find every scale that contains these notes with the scale finder.
- Why is locrian rarely used as a key?
- Its tonic chord is diminished, so there is nothing stable to resolve to. It works as a colour over a chord rather than as a home key.
- What chord does locrian fit over?
- The half-diminished seventh — m7♭5.
- How do I play Bb Locrian?
- On guitar start with the 1st position, played from the lowest string upward; the instrument panel on this page shows its frets and the positions further up the neck. On the piano the right hand ascends 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4, with 1 as the thumb. Every position plays when you press it.
- What chords are in the key of Bb Locrian?
- Stacking thirds on each degree of Bb Locrian gives Bbdim (i°), CbM (II), Dbm (iii), Ebm (iv), FbM (V), Gb (VI), Abm (vii). These are the diatonic chords of the key, the ones a song in this key uses most; the harmony band on this page lists them with the seventh chords built the same way.