Guitar scale · Locrian mode
D Locrian Scale
The most unstable mode. Contains a diminished 5th (♭5) for sinister metal riffs.
Tap any note to hear it.
How to play D Locrian on guitar
Find the root first: D is at fret 10 on the low E string and fret 5 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every D on the neck; the gold ones are the other chord tones (3rd, 5th and 7th), which are the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.
Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 10–14. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.
D Locrian uses exactly the same notes as Eb major; only the home note changes, which is what gives it its sound. See the Eb Major Scale.
Degrees
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | D |
| ♭2 | Eb |
| ♭3 | F |
| 4 | G |
| ♭5 | Ab |
| ♭6 | Bb |
| ♭7 | C |
Fretwise for Android · Free
Practise D Locrian anywhere, even offline.
This page is a small slice of the Fretwise app. On your phone you get all 20 scales and 23 chord types in every key, 7 tunings including Drop D and DADGAD, and the CAGED shapes on one tap. No sign-up.
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Questions
- What notes are in the D Locrian Scale?
- The D Locrian Scale has 7 notes: D, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C.
- What is the formula of the locrian scale?
- 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7, which is the step pattern H W W H W W W (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play D Locrian on the guitar?
- The root D is at fret 10 on the low E string and fret 5 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 10–14, and four more positions connect it up the neck.