D♯ locrian
D♯ natural minor with two notes lowered: E and A. Seven notes: D♯ E F♯ G♯ A B C♯. The same notes as E major, centred on D♯. Locrian is rarely used as a home key.
- Parent key
- E major Same notes
- Colour note
- E and A The flat 2nd and 5th
- Repeating chords
- D♯° – E i° – ♭II
Across one chord in different positions. Down one place, every chord of the mode. | ||||
| i°VampD♯°D♯ · F♯ · A | ||||
| ♭IIVampEE · G♯ · B | ||||
| ♭iiiF♯mF♯ · A · C♯ | ||||
| ivG♯mG♯ · B · D♯ | ||||
| ♭VAA · C♯ · E | ||||
| ♭VIBB · D♯ · F♯ | ||||
| ♭viiC♯mC♯ · E · G♯ |
What makes it locrian
Natural minor, with the 2nd and 5th lowered
Two notes separate D♯ locrian from D♯ natural minor: E♯ becomes E and A♯ becomes A. Over the same root, that turns D♯m – E♯° into D♯° – E.
- D♯
- E♯
- F♯
- G♯
- A♯
- B
- C♯
- D♯
- E
- F♯
- G♯
- A
- B
- C♯
Hear the difference
One chord that says locrian
D♯m7♭5 holds A, one of the mode's two colour notes. Play it to hear those notes together.
The brightness ladder
Seven modes on D♯
From brightest to darkest, each row lowers one note of the row above. Locrian is row 7 of seven.
↑ Brighter
- E♭ lydianE♭FGAB♭CDsame sound as D♯ lydian♯4
- E♭ ionian (major)E♭FGA♭B♭CDsame sound as D♯ ionian (major)—
- E♭ mixolydianE♭FGA♭B♭CD♭same sound as D♯ mixolydian♭7
- D♯ dorianD♯E♯F♯G♯A♯B♯C♯♭3 ♭7
- D♯ aeolian (natural minor)D♯E♯F♯G♯A♯BC♯♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- D♯ phrygianD♯EF♯G♯A♯BC♯♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- D♯ locrianD♯EF♯G♯ABC♯♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Darker ↓
Jam along
Three drills over the vamp
Play over the repeating D♯° – E chords with a metronome. The neck highlights the notes to aim for, with E and A ringed.
- The vamp, with a clickD♯° – E, 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 D♯° – E sounds. Stay in frets 2–6.80 bpmLevel 1
- Land on the colour noteOver D♯°, aim for A; over E, aim for E. They are the notes that make it locrian.80 bpmLevel 2
Locrian on every root
Pick a root
Other modes of E major's notes