G locrian
G natural minor with two notes lowered: A♭ and D♭. Seven notes: G A♭ B♭ C D♭ E♭ F. The same notes as A♭ major, centred on G. Locrian is rarely used as a home key.
- Parent key
- A♭ major Same notes
- Colour note
- A♭ and D♭ The flat 2nd and 5th
- Repeating chords
- G° – A♭ i° – ♭II
Across one chord in different positions. Down one place, every chord of the mode. | ||||
| i°VampG°G · B♭ · D♭ | ||||
| ♭IIVampA♭A♭ · C · E♭ | ||||
| ♭iiiB♭mB♭ · D♭ · F | ||||
| ivCmC · E♭ · G | ||||
| ♭VD♭D♭ · F · A♭ | ||||
| ♭VIE♭E♭ · G · B♭ | ||||
| ♭viiFmF · A♭ · C |
What makes it locrian
Natural minor, with the 2nd and 5th lowered
Two notes separate G locrian from G natural minor: A becomes A♭ and D becomes D♭. Over the same root, that turns Gm – A° into G° – A♭.
- G
- A
- B♭
- C
- D
- E♭
- F
- G
- A♭
- B♭
- C
- D♭
- E♭
- F
Hear the difference
One chord that says locrian
Gm7♭5 holds D♭, one of the mode's two colour notes. Play it to hear those notes together.
The brightness ladder
Seven modes on G
From brightest to darkest, each row lowers one note of the row above. Locrian is row 7 of seven.
↑ Brighter
- G lydianGABC♯DEF♯♯4
- G ionian (major)GABCDEF♯—
- G mixolydianGABCDEF♭7
- G dorianGAB♭CDEF♭3 ♭7
- G aeolian (natural minor)GAB♭CDE♭F♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- G phrygianGA♭B♭CDE♭F♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- G locrianGA♭B♭CD♭E♭F♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Darker ↓
Jam along
Three drills over the vamp
Play over the repeating G° – A♭ chords with a metronome. The neck highlights the notes to aim for, with A♭ and D♭ ringed.
- The vamp, with a clickG° – A♭, two bars each, in frets 3–6. Strum on the beat.80 bpmLevel 1
- Scale over the vampUp the scale and back down, one note a beat, while G° – A♭ sounds. Stay in frets 3–6.80 bpmLevel 1
- Land on the colour noteOver G°, aim for D♭; over A♭, aim for A♭. They are the notes that make it locrian.80 bpmLevel 2