C♯ locrian
C♯ natural minor with two notes lowered: D and G. Seven notes: C♯ D E F♯ G A B. The same notes as D major, centred on C♯. Locrian is rarely used as a home key.
- Parent key
- D major Same notes
- Colour note
- D and G The flat 2nd and 5th
- Repeating chords
- C♯° – D i° – ♭II
Across one chord in different positions. Down one place, every chord of the mode. | ||||
| i°VampC♯°C♯ · E · G | ||||
| ♭IIVampDD · F♯ · A | ||||
| ♭iiiEmE · G · B | ||||
| ivF♯mF♯ · A · C♯ | ||||
| ♭VGG · B · D | ||||
| ♭VIAA · C♯ · E | ||||
| ♭viiBmB · D · F♯ |
What makes it locrian
Natural minor, with the 2nd and 5th lowered
Two notes separate C♯ locrian from C♯ natural minor: D♯ becomes D and G♯ becomes G. Over the same root, that turns C♯m – D♯° into C♯° – D.
- C♯
- D♯
- E
- F♯
- G♯
- A
- B
- C♯
- D
- E
- F♯
- G
- A
- B
Hear the difference
One chord that says locrian
C♯m7♭5 holds G, one of the mode's two colour notes. Play it to hear those notes together.
The brightness ladder
Seven modes on C♯
From brightest to darkest, each row lowers one note of the row above. Locrian is row 7 of seven.
↑ Brighter
- D♭ lydianD♭E♭FGA♭B♭Csame sound as C♯ lydian♯4
- C♯ ionian (major)C♯D♯E♯F♯G♯A♯B♯—
- C♯ mixolydianC♯D♯E♯F♯G♯A♯B♭7
- C♯ dorianC♯D♯EF♯G♯A♯B♭3 ♭7
- C♯ aeolian (natural minor)C♯D♯EF♯G♯AB♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- C♯ phrygianC♯DEF♯G♯AB♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- C♯ locrianC♯DEF♯GAB♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Darker ↓
Jam along
Three drills over the vamp
Play over the repeating C♯° – D chords with a metronome. The neck highlights the notes to aim for, with D and G ringed.
- The vamp, with a clickC♯° – D, two bars each, in frets 2–6. Strum on the beat.80 bpmLevel 1
- Scale over the vampUp the scale and back down, one note a beat, while C♯° – D sounds. Stay in frets 2–6.80 bpmLevel 1
- Land on the colour noteOver C♯°, aim for G; over D, aim for D. They are the notes that make it locrian.80 bpmLevel 2