Formula
- Degrees: 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7.
- Steps: H W W H W W W (1 2 2 1 2 2 2 semitones).
- Parent scale: 7th mode of the major scale. B Locrian = notes of C major from B: B C D E F G A.
- On C: C Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb. On E: E F G A Bb C D. On A: A Bb C D Eb F G.
Trick: Locrian is Phrygian with a lowered 5th.
Characteristic note and color
The diminished 5th (b5) is the signature, and the problem: the tonic has no perfect fifth, so the tonic triad is diminished (B°). Locrian is the most unstable mode: shadowy, suspended, unsettling, “floorless”. The b2 adds darkness. For centuries it was considered only theoretical (Glarean discarded it as a practical mode in 1547).
Diatonic chords (C Locrian)
| Degree | Triad | Seventh |
|---|---|---|
| i° | C° | Cø7 |
| bII | Db | Dbmaj7 |
| biii | Ebm | Ebm7 |
| iv | Fm | Fm7 |
| bV | Gb | Gbmaj7 |
| bVI | Ab | Ab7 |
| bvii | Bbm | Bbm7 |
Progressions that assert Locrian: iø7 – bII (Cø7 – Dbmaj7), i° – bV (C° – Gb: the tritone in the bass), i° – bvii – bVI – bII. The ear tends to “slide” onto the bII (Db) or the bVI (Ab, which is the tonic of the parent scale): to keep Locrian you need an ostinato pedal on the tonic, strong rhythmic accents on the tonic and the 1 – b5 tritone well in evidence.
Locrian in jazz
Locrian is the “standard” scale over the half-diminished chord (ø7) as the ii of a minor key (Bø7 in A minor). Its b2, however, creates a minor 9th against the root, which is why many jazz players prefer Locrian #2 (6th mode of melodic minor), which has the natural 9th. See the dedicated card.
Use in genres
- Extreme metal and nu metal: riffs that use the tritone from the tonic and the b2. Frequently cited examples: Slipknot (“Everything Ends”, “Duality”), Gojira (“From Mars”), Björk's “Army of Me” (bass riff with a Locrian color, in an electronic/industrial context).
- Classical: Rachmaninoff, Prelude op. 32 no. 10; Hindemith, Ludus Tonalis; Sibelius, Symphony No. 4 (passages); Debussy, Jeux (passages). Britten, “In Freezing Winter Night” (A Ceremony of Carols).
- Film and video game music: alien environments, horror, tension without resolution.
- Arabic music: the Lami maqam has a structure close to Locrian.
Melodies and basses
- An ostinato bass on the tonic with leaps to the b5 (B – F) and to the b2 (B – C) is the most effective way to “fix” the tonic.
- In melodies the b5 must be treated as a stable note, not a passing tone: if it always resolves to the 4 or the b6, the ear looks for another tonic.
- A power chord on the tonic does not work (there is no perfect 5th): use dyads 1 – b5, or 1 – b2, or just the tonic in octaves.
Common mistakes
- Writing “in B Locrian” and then cadencing on C or Am: the piece becomes C Ionian or A Aeolian.
- Using the Locrian scale over a ø7 that is a vii of a major key (Bø7 in C): it works, but the b2 (C) must be treated with caution as a tension.
- Adding the perfect 5th to “stabilize”: it becomes Phrygian.
Exercise
- 808 pedal on B with accents in sixteenth notes; above it, a pad alternating Bø7 – Cmaj7 every bar. Listen to how much B remains the tonic.
- Write a riff in E Locrian (E F G A Bb C D) with E–Bb dyads and a phrase that always returns to E.
- Listen to “Army of Me” (Björk) and find the tonic of the riff and its interval of a fifth.
Connections
Modes of the major scale; Phrygian mode; Locrian #2; Super Locrian (altered); Locrian #6; Diminished seventh chord.