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Guitar scale · harmonic & melodic

C Locrian Natural 6 Scale

Mode 2 of Harmonic Minor: Locrian with a natural 6th.

Notes CDbEbFGbABb
Formula 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 ♭7
Steps H W W H W+H H W
Mood Dark, Tense, Unusual
Heard in Modal Improvisation, Jazz

Interactive scale diagram

C Locrian Natural 6 Scale · Standard tuning

STR OP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 E A D G B E

Tap any note to hear it.

C Locrian Natural 6 Scale tab: all 5 positions

Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.

Position 1 · E shape frets 8–12
e|-------------------------------------8-9-11-|
B|-------------------------------10-11--------|
G|-----------------------8-10-11--------------|
D|---------------8-10-11----------------------|
A|--------8-9-12------------------------------|
E|-8-9-11-------------------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 10–14
e|-------------------------------------------11-13-14-|
B|----------------------------------11-13-14----------|
G|-------------------------10-11-14-------------------|
D|----------------10-11-13----------------------------|
A|----------12-13-------------------------------------|
E|-11-13-14-------------------------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 12–16
e|-------------------------------------------13-14-|
B|----------------------------------13-14-16-------|
G|----------------------------14-15----------------|
D|-------------------13-15-16----------------------|
A|-------12-13-15-16-------------------------------|
E|-13-14-------------------------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 15–19
e|-------------------------------------------17-18-|
B|----------------------------------16-18-19-------|
G|-------------------------15-17-18----------------|
D|----------------15-16-19-------------------------|
A|-------15-16-18----------------------------------|
E|-17-18-------------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 17–21
e|-------------------------------------------17-18-20-21-|
B|-------------------------------------18-19-------------|
G|----------------------------17-18-20-------------------|
D|----------------------19-20----------------------------|
A|-------------18-20-21----------------------------------|
E|-17-18-20-21-------------------------------------------|

How to play C Locrian Natural 6 on guitar

Find the root first: C is at fret 8 on the low E string and fret 3 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every C 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 8–12. 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

DegreeNote
1 C
♭2 Db
♭3 Eb
4 F
♭5 Gb
6 A
♭7 Bb

Chords in C Locrian Natural 6

Stack every other note of the scale and you get these seven chords. They are the chords that sound "at home" in C Locrian Natural 6; tap one to see its shapes.

Degree Chord 7th chord Function
i° Cdim Cm7b5 Tonic
♭II+ Dbaug Dbmaj7#5 Supertonic
♭iii Ebm Ebm7 Mediant
IV F F7 Subdominant
♭V Gb Gbmaj7 Dominant
vi° Adim Adim7 Submediant
♭vii Bbm Bbm(maj7) Leading tone / subtonic

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Questions

What notes are in the C Locrian Natural 6 Scale?
The C Locrian Natural 6 Scale has 7 notes: C, Db, Eb, F, Gb, A, Bb.
What chords are in the C Locrian Natural 6 Scale?
The chords of C Locrian Natural 6 are Cdim (i°), Dbaug (♭II+), Ebm (♭iii), F (IV), Gb (♭V), Adim (vi°), Bbm (♭vii).
What is the formula of the locrian natural 6 scale?
1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 ♭7, which is the step pattern H W W H W+H H W (W = whole step, H = half step).
Where do I play C Locrian Natural 6 on the guitar?
The root C is at fret 8 on the low E string and fret 3 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 8–12, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Locrian Natural 6 Scale in every key

More scales in C