A♯ locrian
A♯ natural minor with two notes lowered: B and E. Seven notes: A♯ B C♯ D♯ E F♯ G♯. The same notes as B major, centred on A♯. Locrian is rarely used as a home key.
- Parent key
- B major Same notes
- Colour note
- B and E The flat 2nd and 5th
- Repeating chords
- A♯° – B i° – ♭II
Across one chord in different positions. Down one place, every chord of the mode. | ||||
| i°VampA♯°A♯ · C♯ · E | ||||
| ♭IIVampBB · D♯ · F♯ | ||||
| ♭iiiC♯mC♯ · E · G♯ | ||||
| ivD♯mD♯ · F♯ · A♯ | ||||
| ♭VEE · G♯ · B | ||||
| ♭VIF♯F♯ · A♯ · C♯ | ||||
| ♭viiG♯mG♯ · B · D♯ |
What makes it locrian
Natural minor, with the 2nd and 5th lowered
Two notes separate A♯ locrian from A♯ natural minor: B♯ becomes B and E♯ becomes E. Over the same root, that turns A♯m – B♯° into A♯° – B.
- A♯
- B♯
- C♯
- D♯
- E♯
- F♯
- G♯
- A♯
- B
- C♯
- D♯
- E
- F♯
- G♯
Hear the difference
One chord that says locrian
A♯m7♭5 holds E, one of the mode's two colour notes. Play it to hear those notes together.
The brightness ladder
Seven modes on A♯
From brightest to darkest, each row lowers one note of the row above. Locrian is row 7 of seven.
↑ Brighter
- B♭ lydianB♭CDEFGAsame sound as A♯ lydian♯4
- B♭ ionian (major)B♭CDE♭FGAsame sound as A♯ ionian (major)—
- B♭ mixolydianB♭CDE♭FGA♭same sound as A♯ mixolydian♭7
- B♭ dorianB♭CD♭E♭FGA♭same sound as A♯ dorian♭3 ♭7
- A♯ aeolian (natural minor)A♯B♯C♯D♯E♯F♯G♯♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- A♯ phrygianA♯BC♯D♯E♯F♯G♯♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- A♯ locrianA♯BC♯D♯EF♯G♯♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Darker ↓
Jam along
Three drills over the vamp
Play over the repeating A♯° – B chords with a metronome. The neck highlights the notes to aim for, with B and E ringed.
- The vamp, with a clickA♯° – B, two bars each, in frets 3–7. Strum on the beat.80 bpmLevel 1
- Scale over the vampUp the scale and back down, one note a beat, while A♯° – B sounds. Stay in frets 3–7.80 bpmLevel 1
- Land on the colour noteOver A♯°, aim for E; over B, aim for B. They are the notes that make it locrian.80 bpmLevel 2
Locrian on every root
Pick a root
Other modes of B major's notes