Guitar scale · exotic
Bb Major Locrian Scale
Locrian with a major 2nd and a major 3rd: 1 2 3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7. Mode 5 of Neapolitan Major, also called Arabian.
Tap any note to hear it.
Bb Major Locrian 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|-------------------------------6-8-10-| B|---------------------------7-9--------| G|---------------------7-8-9------------| D|--------------6-8-10------------------| A|--------6-7-9-------------------------| E|-6-8-10-------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------8-10-11-12-| B|--------------------------------9-11------------| G|-------------------------8-9-11-----------------| D|-----------------8-10-12------------------------| A|------------9-11--------------------------------| E|-8-10-11-12-------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------10-11-12-14-| B|-------------------------------------11-13-------------| G|-------------------------------11-13-------------------| D|-------------------10-12-13-14-------------------------| A|-------------11-13-------------------------------------| E|-10-11-12-14-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------14-16-| B|----------------------------------15-16-17-------| G|-------------------------13-15-17----------------| D|----------------13-14-16-------------------------| A|-------13-15-17----------------------------------| E|-14-16-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------16-18-| B|----------------------------------16-17-19-------| G|-------------------------15-17-19----------------| D|-------------------16-18-------------------------| A|-------15-17-18-19-------------------------------| E|-16-18-------------------------------------------|
How to play Bb Major Locrian 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 | D |
| 4 | Eb |
| ♭5 | Fb |
| ♭6 | Gb |
| ♭7 | Ab |
Chords in Bb Major Locrian
Stack every other note of the scale and you get these seven chords. They are the chords that sound "at home" in Bb Major Locrian; tap one to see its shapes.
| Degree | Chord | 7th chord | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | — | — | Tonic |
| ii° | Cdim | Cm7b5 | Supertonic |
| III | — | — | Mediant |
| iv | Ebm | Ebm(maj7) | Subdominant |
| ♭V+ | Fbaug | Fbmaj7#5 | Dominant |
| ♭VI+ | Gbaug | — | Submediant |
| ♭VII | Ab | Ab7 | Leading tone / subtonic |
Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android
Practise Bb Major Locrian anywhere, even offline.
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Questions
- What notes are in the Bb Major Locrian Scale?
- The Bb Major Locrian Scale has 7 notes: Bb, C, D, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab.
- What chords are in the Bb Major Locrian Scale?
- The chords of Bb Major Locrian are Cdim (ii°), Ebm (iv), Fbaug (♭V+), Gbaug (♭VI+), Ab (♭VII).
- What is the formula of the major locrian scale?
- 1 2 3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7, which is the step pattern W W H H W W W (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play Bb Major Locrian 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.