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Guitar scale · harmonic & melodic

F Locrian bb7 Scale

Mode 7 of Harmonic Major: Locrian with a doubly flattened 7th (𝄫7).

Notes FGbAbBbCbDbD
Formula 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 𝄫7
Steps H W W H W H W+H
Mood Unstable, Dark, Dissonant
Heard in Modal Improvisation

Interactive scale diagram

F Locrian bb7 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.

F Locrian bb7 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 1–5
e|-----------------------------1-2-4-|
B|-------------------------2-3-------|
G|-------------------1-3-4-----------|
D|---------------3-4-----------------|
A|-------1-2-4-5---------------------|
E|-1-2-4-----------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 3–7
e|-----------------------------4-6-7-|
B|-------------------------6-7-------|
G|-----------------3-4-6-7-----------|
D|-----------3-4-6-------------------|
A|-------4-5-------------------------|
E|-4-6-7-----------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 5–9
e|-----------------------------6-7-9-|
B|-----------------------6-7-9-------|
G|-------------------6-7-------------|
D|-------------6-8-9-----------------|
A|-------5-8-9-----------------------|
E|-6-7-9-----------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 8–12
e|-------------------------------------9-10-|
B|-----------------------------9-11-12------|
G|-----------------------10-11--------------|
D|-------------8-9-11-12--------------------|
A|------8-9-11------------------------------|
E|-9-10-------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 10–14
e|-------------------------------------------10-13-14-|
B|----------------------------------11-12-14----------|
G|-------------------------10-11-13-------------------|
D|-------------------11-12----------------------------|
A|----------11-13-14----------------------------------|
E|-10-13-14-------------------------------------------|

How to play F Locrian bb7 on guitar

Find the root first: F is at fret 1 on the low E string and fret 8 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every F 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 1–5. 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 F
♭2 Gb
♭3 Ab
4 Bb
♭5 Cb
♭6 Db
𝄫7 D

Chords in F Locrian bb7

Stack every other note of the scale and you get these seven chords. They are the chords that sound "at home" in F Locrian bb7; tap one to see its shapes.

Degree Chord 7th chord Function
i° Fdim Fdim7 Tonic
♭II Gb Gbmaj7 Supertonic
♭iii° Abdim Abm7b5 Mediant
iv Bbm Bbm7 Subdominant
♭v Cbm Cbm(maj7) Dominant
♭VI Db Db7 Submediant
VII+ Daug Dmaj7#5 Leading tone / subtonic

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Questions

What notes are in the F Locrian bb7 Scale?
The F Locrian bb7 Scale has 7 notes: F, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, D.
What chords are in the F Locrian bb7 Scale?
The chords of F Locrian bb7 are Fdim (i°), Gb (♭II), Abdim (♭iii°), Bbm (iv), Cbm (♭v), Db (♭VI), Daug (VII+).
What is the formula of the locrian bb7 scale?
1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 𝄫7, which is the step pattern H W W H W H W+H (W = whole step, H = half step).
Where do I play F Locrian bb7 on the guitar?
The root F is at fret 1 on the low E string and fret 8 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 1–5, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Locrian bb7 Scale in every key

More scales in F