F locrian contains F, G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, and E♭. Box 1 spans frets 0–4 with roots on string 6 fret 1, string 4 fret 3, and string 1 fret 1.
F locrian contains F, G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, and E♭. Box 1 spans frets 0–4 with roots on string 6 fret 1, string 4 fret 3, and string 1 fret 1.
F locrian is the seventh mode of G♭ major, built as 1, ♭2, ♭3, 4, ♭5, ♭6, ♭7. Its half-step pattern is H, W, W, H, W, W, W. Lower the fifth of F phrygian to get the ♭5. The tonic chord is F minor 7th flat 5th.
F locrian fits F minor 7th flat 5th and F diminished chords. Use it over half-diminished progressions in jazz, metal riffs, and dark ambient lines. Pair with F minor 7th flat 5th or F diminished.
Practise Box 1 first. It places the root on string 6 fret 1 and covers frets 0–4, setting up Box 2.
F locrian in box 1 runs from fret 0 to fret 4, 18 notes across 6 strings, from F on the low E string at fret 1 up to A♭ on the high e string at fret 4. The root falls on the low E string at fret 1, the D string at fret 3 and the high e string at fret 1.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 1, 2, 4 | F, G♭, A♭ |
| 5 (A) | 1, 2, 4 | B♭, C♭, D♭ |
| 4 (D) | 1, 3, 4 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 3 (G) | 1, 3, 4 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 2 (B) | 0, 2, 4 | C♭, D♭, E♭ |
| 1 (e) | 1, 2, 4 | F, G♭, A♭ |
F locrian in box 2 runs from fret 4 to fret 7, 15 notes across 6 strings, from A♭ on the low E string at fret 4 up to C♭ on the high e string at fret 7. The root falls on the B string at fret 6.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 4, 6, 7 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 5 (A) | 4, 6 | D♭, E♭ |
| 4 (D) | 4, 6 | G♭, A♭ |
| 3 (G) | 4, 6 | C♭, D♭ |
| 2 (B) | 4, 6, 7 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 1 (e) | 4, 6, 7 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
F locrian in box 3 runs from fret 6 to fret 9, 17 notes across 6 strings, from B♭ on the low E string at fret 6 up to D♭ on the high e string at fret 9. The root falls on the A string at fret 8 and the B string at fret 6.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 6, 7, 9 | B♭, C♭, D♭ |
| 5 (A) | 6, 8, 9 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 4 (D) | 6, 8, 9 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 3 (G) | 6, 8 | D♭, E♭ |
| 2 (B) | 6, 7, 9 | F, G♭, A♭ |
| 1 (e) | 6, 7, 9 | B♭, C♭, D♭ |
F locrian in box 4 runs from fret 9 to fret 12, 13 notes across 6 strings, from D♭ on the low E string at fret 9 up to E♭ on the high e string at fret 11. The root falls on the G string at fret 10.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 9, 11 | D♭, E♭ |
| 5 (A) | 9, 11 | G♭, A♭ |
| 4 (D) | 9, 11 | C♭, D♭ |
| 3 (G) | 10, 11 | F, G♭ |
| 2 (B) | 9, 11, 12 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 1 (e) | 9, 11 | D♭, E♭ |
F locrian in box 5 runs from fret 11 to fret 14, 16 notes across 6 strings, from E♭ on the low E string at fret 11 up to G♭ on the high e string at fret 14. The root falls on the low E string at fret 13 and the high e string at fret 13.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 11, 13, 14 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 5 (A) | 11, 13, 14 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 4 (D) | 11, 13 | D♭, E♭ |
| 3 (G) | 11, 13 | G♭, A♭ |
| 2 (B) | 11, 12, 14 | B♭, C♭, D♭ |
| 1 (e) | 11, 13, 14 | E♭, F, G♭ |
F locrian, position 1 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the root and runs from fret 1 to fret 6, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the low E string at fret 1, the D string at fret 3 and the B string at fret 6.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 1, 2, 4 | F, G♭, A♭ |
| 5 (A) | 1, 2, 4 | B♭, C♭, D♭ |
| 4 (D) | 1, 3, 4 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 3 (G) | 1, 3, 4 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 2 (B) | 2, 4, 6 | D♭, E♭, F |
| 1 (e) | 2, 4, 6 | G♭, A♭, B♭ |
F locrian, position 2 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭2 and runs from fret 2 to fret 7, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the D string at fret 3 and the B string at fret 6.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 2, 4, 6 | G♭, A♭, B♭ |
| 5 (A) | 2, 4, 6 | C♭, D♭, E♭ |
| 4 (D) | 3, 4, 6 | F, G♭, A♭ |
| 3 (G) | 3, 4, 6 | B♭, C♭, D♭ |
| 2 (B) | 4, 6, 7 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 1 (e) | 4, 6, 7 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
F locrian, position 3 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭3 and runs from fret 4 to fret 9, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 8 and the B string at fret 6.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 4, 6, 7 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 5 (A) | 4, 6, 8 | D♭, E♭, F |
| 4 (D) | 4, 6, 8 | G♭, A♭, B♭ |
| 3 (G) | 4, 6, 8 | C♭, D♭, E♭ |
| 2 (B) | 6, 7, 9 | F, G♭, A♭ |
| 1 (e) | 6, 7, 9 | B♭, C♭, D♭ |
F locrian, position 4 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the 4 and runs from fret 6 to fret 11, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 8 and the G string at fret 10.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 6, 7, 9 | B♭, C♭, D♭ |
| 5 (A) | 6, 8, 9 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 4 (D) | 6, 8, 9 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 3 (G) | 6, 8, 10 | D♭, E♭, F |
| 2 (B) | 7, 9, 11 | G♭, A♭, B♭ |
| 1 (e) | 7, 9, 11 | C♭, D♭, E♭ |
F locrian, position 5 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭5 and runs from fret 7 to fret 13, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 8, the G string at fret 10 and the high e string at fret 13.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 7, 9, 11 | C♭, D♭, E♭ |
| 5 (A) | 8, 9, 11 | F, G♭, A♭ |
| 4 (D) | 8, 9, 11 | B♭, C♭, D♭ |
| 3 (G) | 8, 10, 11 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 2 (B) | 9, 11, 12 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 1 (e) | 9, 11, 13 | D♭, E♭, F |
F locrian, position 6 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭6 and runs from fret 9 to fret 14, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the low E string at fret 13, the G string at fret 10 and the high e string at fret 13.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 9, 11, 13 | D♭, E♭, F |
| 5 (A) | 9, 11, 13 | G♭, A♭, B♭ |
| 4 (D) | 9, 11, 13 | C♭, D♭, E♭ |
| 3 (G) | 10, 11, 13 | F, G♭, A♭ |
| 2 (B) | 11, 12, 14 | B♭, C♭, D♭ |
| 1 (e) | 11, 13, 14 | E♭, F, G♭ |
F locrian, position 7 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭7 and runs from fret 11 to fret 16, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the low E string at fret 13, the D string at fret 15 and the high e string at fret 13.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 11, 13, 14 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 5 (A) | 11, 13, 14 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 4 (D) | 11, 13, 15 | D♭, E♭, F |
| 3 (G) | 11, 13, 15 | G♭, A♭, B♭ |
| 2 (B) | 12, 14, 16 | C♭, D♭, E♭ |
| 1 (e) | 13, 14, 16 | F, G♭, A♭ |
Every chord here uses only notes from the scale. Tap one to open it.
F locrian contains F, G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, and E♭. The intervals are 1, ♭2, ♭3, 4, ♭5, ♭6, ♭7. Its half-step pattern is H, W, W, H, W, W, W.
F locrian fits F minor 7th flat 5th and F diminished chords. The tonic chord is F minor 7th flat 5th. Use it over half-diminished progressions.
F locrian lowers the fifth of F phrygian from C to C♭. This creates the ♭5 interval that defines the locrian sound. The rest of the notes are identical.