C Locrian mode
C Locrian mode is C – D♭ – E♭ – F – G♭ – A♭ – B♭, with D♭, E♭, G♭, A♭ and B♭. Formula 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7. Hit play and watch it light up on both instruments.
Notes and steps
The step pattern is H W W H W W W (W = whole step, H = half step). The half steps fall between C–D♭ and F–G♭.
| Degree | Note | Interval from C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C | root | |
| ♭2 | D♭ | minor second | |
| ♭3 | E♭ | minor third | |
| 4 | F | perfect fourth | |
| ♭5 | G♭ | tritone | |
| ♭6 | A♭ | minor sixth | |
| ♭7 | B♭ | minor seventh |
What C Locrian sounds like
C Locrian is the mode whose tonic triad (Cdim) has no perfect fifth. You'll meet it over Cm7♭5 chords in jazz rather than as the key of a song.
Its home chord is Cdim, diminished, so Locrian rarely works as a key; it's used over Cm7♭5, where every note fits.
Compared with C natural minor scale, C Locrian mode has D♭ and G♭ where the other has D and G; the other five notes are shared. Hear C natural minor scale and compare.
C Locrian mode uses the same seven notes as D♭ major, starting from C instead of D♭. Same notes, different home note: what makes it Locrian is playing it over a C bass or chord.
Where your hands go
D♭, E♭, G♭, A♭ and B♭ are on black keys; the rest are white.
The guitar box starts with the root at the 8th fret of the low E string and spans frets 6–12: 18 notes, low string to high.
Chords built on each note
Stack every other note of the scale on each degree and you get 7 chords. These are the chords that fit C Locrian mode; the ones that differ from the D♭ major set are what give the mode its color. Tap to hear each one.
C Locrian mode shares all its notes with D♭ major (starting on the 2nd note, D♭), E♭ Dorian (starting on the 3rd note, E♭), F Phrygian (starting on the 4th note, F), G♭ Lydian (starting on the 5th note, G♭), A♭ Mixolydian (starting on the 6th note, A♭) and B♭ natural minor (starting on the 7th note, B♭). Which one you hear depends on which note the music treats as home.
Finding C Locrian on the neck
Anchor points for C: low E string fret 8, A string fret 3 and 15. Most guitarists learn it in five overlapping positions; on the low E string they begin around frets 1, 3, 5, 8 and 10. Mostly used over a half-diminished chord rather than as a home key, because its tonic chord is unstable.
On the piano, C Locrian mode uses 5 black keys (D♭, E♭, G♭, A♭ and B♭) and 2 white.
Thirds make the scale sound musical instead of step-by-step: C–E♭, D♭–F, E♭–G♭, F–A♭, G♭–B♭, A♭–C, B♭–D♭.
Three ways to practise C Locrian
Running a scale straight up and down only teaches the order. These patterns use the same 7 notes and train your ear and fingers to jump around inside C Locrian mode.
- Groups of three: C D♭ E♭ · D♭ E♭ F · E♭ F G♭ · F G♭ A♭ · G♭ A♭ B♭ · A♭ B♭ C.
- Lean on G♭: C G♭ C G♭ C: the ♭5 makes even the home chord unstable.
Try next, from C
Locrian mode in every key
C Locrian mode: questions
What are the notes of the C Locrian mode?
C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭, A♭ and B♭, then C again at the octave. Formula: 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7.
How many sharps or flats are in the C Locrian mode?
Five: D♭, E♭, G♭, A♭ and B♭.
What chords are in the C Locrian mode?
Stacking thirds on each note gives Cdim (i°), D♭ (II), E♭m (iii), Fm (iv), G♭ (V), A♭ (VI) and B♭m (vii).
What's the difference between C Locrian mode and C natural minor scale?
D♭ and G♭ in C Locrian; D and G in the other. Everything else is the same.
Which major scale has the same notes as C Locrian mode?
D♭ major. C Locrian is D♭ major played from its 7th note, C.
Every note on this page is computed from 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 and tested. Updated September 2026.