Replace that with a shimmering, crunchy diminished chord and everything makes a lot more sense. We can start with the C Locrian mode, which brings the D Locrian down by a major second. It contains exactly the same notes, but starts on another note. It's an often misunderstood and, as a result, misused mode. All Rights Reserved. These can be described as steps on the guitar fingerboard according to the following formula: half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole from the first note to the same in the next octave. Try to remember what each note sounds like over the chord. and They can change the tone, style and feel of your playing with just one unexpected note. One of the most important parts of a guitarists toolbox is the humble scale. You’ll be incredibly hard pushed to find a nice, listenable pop song that remains in the Locrian mode throughout. However, you’ll still do well to remember that you don’t have to remain in one mode. Scales you can use in the real world, created by a human guitarist. The one thing that the Locrian can lend itself very well to without sounding completely manic and out of place is jazz improvisation. The easiest way to learn this scale is to think of it as the Ab Major starting on its seventh note. It basically goes on forever, but you don’t need to worry about that. Related to this scale is the G Locrian ♮2 scale, also called G Half-diminished scale. But that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have a use in certain situations. fellow guitar players! Because the idea of using a diminished fifth and a minor second promotes such an unclear tonic, it’ll prove incredibly difficult to make your use of the Locrian mode actually sound ‘final’ when it reaches its tonic. For example, you could start with a Cdim chord in the Locrian mode, but you might want to use a simple chord II next. The Locrian mode is based off of the 7th scale degree of any major scale. * In reality, Locrian scales are seldom used throughout a whole song. Colored circles in the diagram mark the notes in the scale (darker color highlighting the root notes). Since 2013, FaChords Guitar has grown a lot (12.000 subscribers and counting!) following the Justin Guitar Honor-System: if you can afford it, please consider supporting FaChords Guitar by buying the ebooks: This ebook is for those players who want a deeper understanding of the chords Even if the Locrian mode sounds like a terrifying, unusable prospect, one of the best things it can provide you is a wealth of dissonances. You’ll almost never see it in use, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t incredibly effective. Locrian is the 7th mode of the major scale. However, remember that the Phrygian mode is also built on a prominent minor second, so don’t let this one try to keep the Locrian tone on its own. For example, you might be playing in a very simple C major but want to create a dissonant, unresolved feeling all of sudden. In D that is the bE. The final three tones takes you through C and D before finally landing back on your tonic. * In reality, Locrian scales are seldom used throughout a whole song. We have supplied you with a scale diagram for the Locrian shape that we will be using in this lesson. If you’re aiming to stretch your ability to play some truly crunchy guitar chords, then this is the scale to use. It can be displayed as follows: The G Locrian ♮2 contains the same notes as the Bb Melodic Minor Scale, but starts on another note. - Nate Savage, 107-31265 Wheel Ave. You’ve probably become rather used to standard major and minor scales, but were you aware of the basically endless possibilities modes afford you?