Guitar scale · half-diminished scale
Bb Locrian Natural 2 Scale
Mode 6 of Melodic Minor: Locrian with a natural 2nd, which softens the most unstable mode.
Tap any note to hear it.
Bb Locrian Natural 2 Scale tab: all 5 positions
Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.
e|------------------------------6-8-9-| B|--------------------------7-9-------| G|--------------------6-8-9-----------| D|-------------6-8-10-----------------| A|-------6-7-9------------------------| E|-6-8-9------------------------------|
e|------------------------------------8-9-11-12-| B|-------------------------------9-11-----------| G|------------------------8-9-11----------------| D|----------------8-10-11-----------------------| A|-----------9-11-------------------------------| E|-8-9-11-12------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------11-12-14-| B|----------------------------------11-13-14----------| G|----------------------------11-13-------------------| D|----------------10-11-13-14-------------------------| A|----------11-13-------------------------------------| E|-11-12-14-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------14-16-| B|----------------------------------14-16-17-------| G|-------------------------13-15-17----------------| D|----------------13-14-16-------------------------| A|-------13-15-16----------------------------------| E|-14-16-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------16-18-| B|----------------------------------16-17-19-------| G|-------------------------15-17-18----------------| D|-------------------16-18-------------------------| A|-------15-16-18-19-------------------------------| E|-16-18-------------------------------------------|
How to play Bb Locrian Natural 2 on guitar
Find the root first: Bb is at fret 6 on the low E string and fret 1 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Bb on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (♭3, ♭5, ♭7), 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 6–10. 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.
Degrees
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bb |
| 2 | C |
| ♭3 | Db |
| 4 | Eb |
| ♭5 | Fb |
| ♭6 | Gb |
| ♭7 | Ab |
Chords in Bb Locrian Natural 2
Stack every other note of the scale and you get these seven chords. They are the chords that sound "at home" in Bb Locrian Natural 2; tap one to see its shapes.
| Degree | Chord | 7th chord | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| i° | Bbdim | Bbm7b5 | Tonic |
| ii° | Cdim | Cm7b5 | Supertonic |
| ♭iii | Dbm | Dbm(maj7) | Mediant |
| iv | Ebm | Ebm7 | Subdominant |
| ♭V+ | Fbaug | Fbmaj7#5 | Dominant |
| ♭VI | Gb | Gb7 | Submediant |
| ♭VII | Ab | Ab7 | Leading tone / subtonic |
Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android
Practise Bb Locrian Natural 2 anywhere, even offline.
This page is a small slice of Fretwise. The app adds practice: exercises that play as tab, a new routine every day, and the tools to tune and keep time. On iPhone, iPad and Android, no sign-up.
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Questions
- What notes are in the Bb Locrian Natural 2 Scale?
- The Bb Locrian Natural 2 Scale has 7 notes: Bb, C, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab.
- What chords are in the Bb Locrian Natural 2 Scale?
- The chords of Bb Locrian Natural 2 are Bbdim (i°), Cdim (ii°), Dbm (♭iii), Ebm (iv), Fbaug (♭V+), Gb (♭VI), Ab (♭VII).
- What is the formula of the locrian natural 2 scale?
- 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7, which is the step pattern W H W H W W W (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play Bb Locrian Natural 2 on the guitar?
- The root Bb is at fret 6 on the low E string and fret 1 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 6–10, and four more positions connect it up the neck.