A♭ locrian contains A♭, B♭♭, C♭, D♭, E♭♭, F♭, and G♭. Box 1 places the root on string 4, fret 4 for a five-fret shape.
A♭ locrian contains A♭, B♭♭, C♭, D♭, E♭♭, F♭, and G♭. Box 1 places the root on string 4, fret 4 for a five-fret shape.
A♭ locrian is the seventh mode of C♭ major, sharing its key signature of seven flats. Lower the fifth of A♭ phrygian by one semitone to get the diminished fifth. The scale contains a tritone between A♭ and E♭♭, but no leading tone.
A♭ locrian fits A♭ minor 7th flat 5th and A♭ diminished chords. Use it over half-diminished progressions in C♭ major, especially in jazz and metal. The ♭5 creates tension that resolves to A major or B minor.
Practise Box 1 first. The root sits on string 4, fret 4, keeping the hand low and the shape compact.
A♭ locrian in box 1 runs from fret 0 to fret 2, 8 notes across 4 strings, from F♭ on the E string at fret 0 up to B♭♭ on the G string at fret 2. The root falls on the G string at fret 1.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 0, 2 | F♭, G♭ |
| 3 (A) | 0, 2 | B♭♭, C♭ |
| 2 (D) | 0, 2 | E♭♭, F♭ |
| 1 (G) | 1, 2 | A♭, B♭♭ |
A♭ locrian in box 2 runs from fret 2 to fret 5, 10 notes across 4 strings, from G♭ on the E string at fret 2 up to C♭ on the G string at fret 4. The root falls on the E string at fret 4.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 2, 4, 5 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 3 (A) | 2, 4, 5 | C♭, D♭, E♭♭ |
| 2 (D) | 2, 4 | F♭, G♭ |
| 1 (G) | 2, 4 | B♭♭, C♭ |
A♭ locrian in box 3 runs from fret 4 to fret 7, 12 notes across 4 strings, from A♭ on the E string at fret 4 up to E♭♭ on the G string at fret 7. The root falls on the E string at fret 4 and the D string at fret 6.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 4, 5, 7 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
| 3 (A) | 4, 5, 7 | D♭, E♭♭, F♭ |
| 2 (D) | 4, 6, 7 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 1 (G) | 4, 6, 7 | C♭, D♭, E♭♭ |
A♭ locrian in box 4 runs from fret 7 to fret 10, 9 notes across 4 strings, from C♭ on the E string at fret 7 up to F♭ on the G string at fret 9. No root falls inside this box; it sits between two of them.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 7, 9, 10 | C♭, D♭, E♭♭ |
| 3 (A) | 7, 9 | F♭, G♭ |
| 2 (D) | 7, 9 | B♭♭, C♭ |
| 1 (G) | 7, 9 | E♭♭, F♭ |
A♭ locrian in box 5 runs from fret 9 to fret 12, 11 notes across 4 strings, from D♭ on the E string at fret 9 up to G♭ on the G string at fret 11. The root falls on the A string at fret 11.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 9, 10, 12 | D♭, E♭♭, F♭ |
| 3 (A) | 9, 11, 12 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 2 (D) | 9, 11, 12 | C♭, D♭, E♭♭ |
| 1 (G) | 9, 11 | F♭, G♭ |
A♭ locrian, position 1 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭6 and runs from fret 0 to fret 4, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the E string at fret 4 and the G string at fret 1.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 0, 2, 4 | F♭, G♭, A♭ |
| 3 (A) | 0, 2, 4 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭ |
| 2 (D) | 0, 2, 4 | E♭♭, F♭, G♭ |
| 1 (G) | 1, 2, 4 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
A♭ locrian, position 2 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭7 and runs from fret 2 to fret 6, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the E string at fret 4 and the D string at fret 6.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 2, 4, 5 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 3 (A) | 2, 4, 5 | C♭, D♭, E♭♭ |
| 2 (D) | 2, 4, 6 | F♭, G♭, A♭ |
| 1 (G) | 2, 4, 6 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭ |
A♭ locrian, position 3 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the root and runs from fret 4 to fret 7, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the E string at fret 4 and the D string at fret 6.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 4, 5, 7 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
| 3 (A) | 4, 5, 7 | D♭, E♭♭, F♭ |
| 2 (D) | 4, 6, 7 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 1 (G) | 4, 6, 7 | C♭, D♭, E♭♭ |
A♭ locrian, position 4 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭2 and runs from fret 5 to fret 9, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the D string at fret 6.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 5, 7, 9 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭ |
| 3 (A) | 5, 7, 9 | E♭♭, F♭, G♭ |
| 2 (D) | 6, 7, 9 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
| 1 (G) | 6, 7, 9 | D♭, E♭♭, F♭ |
A♭ locrian, position 5 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭3 and runs from fret 7 to fret 11, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 11.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 7, 9, 10 | C♭, D♭, E♭♭ |
| 3 (A) | 7, 9, 11 | F♭, G♭, A♭ |
| 2 (D) | 7, 9, 11 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭ |
| 1 (G) | 7, 9, 11 | E♭♭, F♭, G♭ |
A♭ locrian, position 6 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the 4 and runs from fret 9 to fret 13, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 11 and the G string at fret 13.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 9, 10, 12 | D♭, E♭♭, F♭ |
| 3 (A) | 9, 11, 12 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 2 (D) | 9, 11, 12 | C♭, D♭, E♭♭ |
| 1 (G) | 9, 11, 13 | F♭, G♭, A♭ |
A♭ locrian, position 7 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭5 and runs from fret 10 to fret 14, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 11 and the G string at fret 13.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 10, 12, 14 | E♭♭, F♭, G♭ |
| 3 (A) | 11, 12, 14 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
| 2 (D) | 11, 12, 14 | D♭, E♭♭, F♭ |
| 1 (G) | 11, 13, 14 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
Every chord here uses only notes from the scale. Tap one to open it.
A♭ locrian contains A♭, B♭♭, C♭, D♭, E♭♭, F♭, and G♭. The scale degrees are 1, ♭2, ♭3, 4, ♭5, ♭6, and ♭7. It has seven flats in its key signature. It is also spelled G♯ in enharmonic notation for the same sounding root.
A♭ locrian fits A♭ minor 7th flat 5th and A♭ diminished chords. These chords occur as the seventh degree in C♭ major. The scale's ♭5 matches the chord's diminished fifth.
A♭ locrian differs from A♭ phrygian by one note: the fifth is E♭♭ instead of E♭. This creates a diminished fifth instead of a perfect fifth. The rest of the notes are identical.