G Locrian mode
G Locrian mode is G – A♭ – B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭ – F, with A♭, B♭, D♭ and E♭. 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 G–A♭ and C–D♭.
| Degree | Note | Interval from G | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G | root | |
| ♭2 | A♭ | minor second | |
| ♭3 | B♭ | minor third | |
| 4 | C | perfect fourth | |
| ♭5 | D♭ | tritone | |
| ♭6 | E♭ | minor sixth | |
| ♭7 | F | minor seventh |
What G Locrian sounds like
G Locrian is the mode whose tonic triad (Gdim) has no perfect fifth. You'll meet it over Gm7♭5 chords in jazz rather than as the key of a song.
Its home chord is Gdim, diminished, so Locrian rarely works as a key; it's used over Gm7♭5, where every note fits.
Compared with G natural minor scale, G Locrian mode has A♭ and D♭ where the other has A and D; the other five notes are shared. Hear G natural minor scale and compare.
G Locrian mode uses the same seven notes as A♭ major, starting from G instead of A♭. Same notes, different home note: what makes it Locrian is playing it over a G bass or chord.
Where your hands go
Keyboard players: four black (A♭, B♭, D♭ and E♭), three white.
18 notes fit in the box between frets 1 and 7, with G at the 3rd fret of the low E string.
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 G Locrian mode; the ones that differ from the A♭ major set are what give the mode its color. Tap to hear each one.
G Locrian mode shares all its notes with C Phrygian (starting on the 4th note, C), D♭ Lydian (starting on the 5th note, D♭), E♭ Mixolydian (starting on the 6th note, E♭), F natural minor (starting on the 7th note, F), A♭ major (starting on the 2nd note, A♭) and B♭ Dorian (starting on the 3rd note, B♭). Which one you hear depends on which note the music treats as home.
Moving it around the guitar
Find G first: fret 3 and 15 of the 6th string, fret 10 of the 5th. Work up the neck in five positions (low E string frets 3, 5, 8, 10 and 12) and you'll have it everywhere. Mostly used over a half-diminished chord rather than as a home key, because its tonic chord is unstable.
On the piano, G Locrian mode uses 4 black keys (A♭, B♭, D♭ and E♭) and 3 white.
Try it in thirds to stop it sounding like an exercise: G–B♭, A♭–C, B♭–D♭, C–E♭, D♭–F, E♭–G, F–A♭, then back down.
Drills for G Locrian
Try these after the plain scale. Tap to hear each pattern at a steady speed, then play along.
- Up in threes: G A♭ B♭ · A♭ B♭ C · B♭ C D♭ · C D♭ E♭ · D♭ E♭ F · E♭ F G.
- Land on D♭: G D♭ G D♭ G: the ♭5 makes even the home chord unstable.
Scales to compare with G Locrian
Locrian mode in every key
G Locrian mode: questions
What are the notes of the G Locrian mode?
G, A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G. As degrees: 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7.
How many sharps or flats are in the G Locrian mode?
Four: A♭, B♭, D♭ and E♭.
What chords are in the G Locrian mode?
Stacking thirds on each note gives Gdim (i°), A♭ (II), B♭m (iii), Cm (iv), D♭ (V), E♭ (VI) and Fm (vii).
What's the difference between G Locrian mode and G natural minor scale?
A♭ and D♭ in G Locrian; A and D in the other. Everything else is the same.
Which major scale has the same notes as G Locrian mode?
A♭ major. G Locrian is A♭ major played from its 7th note, G.
Generated from the step pattern 1-2-2-1-2-2-2 and checked by the site's tests. Updated September 2026.