B locrian
B natural minor with two notes lowered: C and F. Seven notes: B C D E F G A. The same notes as C major, centred on B. Locrian is rarely used as a home key.
- Parent key
- C major Same notes
- Colour note
- C and F The flat 2nd and 5th
- Repeating chords
- B° – C i° – ♭II
Across one chord in different positions. Down one place, every chord of the mode. | ||||
| i°VampB°B · D · F | ||||
| ♭IIVampCC · E · G | ||||
| ♭iiiDmD · F · A | ||||
| ivEmE · G · B | ||||
| ♭VFF · A · C | ||||
| ♭VIGG · B · D | ||||
| ♭viiAmA · C · E |
What makes it locrian
Natural minor, with the 2nd and 5th lowered
Two notes separate B locrian from B natural minor: C♯ becomes C and F♯ becomes F. Over the same root, that turns Bm – C♯° into B° – C.
- B
- C♯
- D
- E
- F♯
- G
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- A
Hear the difference
One chord that says locrian
Bm7♭5 holds F, one of the mode's two colour notes. Play it to hear those notes together.
The brightness ladder
Seven modes on B
From brightest to darkest, each row lowers one note of the row above. Locrian is row 7 of seven.
↑ Brighter
- B lydianBC♯D♯E♯F♯G♯A♯♯4
- B ionian (major)BC♯D♯EF♯G♯A♯—
- B mixolydianBC♯D♯EF♯G♯A♭7
- B dorianBC♯DEF♯G♯A♭3 ♭7
- B aeolian (natural minor)BC♯DEF♯GA♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- B phrygianBCDEF♯GA♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- B locrianBCDEFGA♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Darker ↓
Jam along
Three drills over the vamp
Play over the repeating B° – C chords with a metronome. The neck highlights the notes to aim for, with C and F ringed.
- The vamp, with a clickB° – C, two bars each, in frets 1–5. Strum on the beat.80 bpmLevel 1
- Scale over the vampUp the scale and back down, one note a beat, while B° – C sounds. Stay in frets 1–5.80 bpmLevel 1
- Land on the colour noteOver B°, aim for F; over C, aim for C. They are the notes that make it locrian.80 bpmLevel 2