A♭ locrian scale on ukulele

A♭ · B𝄫 · C♭ · D♭ · E𝄫 · F♭ · G♭

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 24 · Modes.

The notes

  1. A♭1
  2. B𝄫♭2
  3. C♭♭3
  4. D♭4
  5. E𝄫♭5
  6. F♭♭6
  7. G♭♭7

The A♭ locrian scale is A♭, B𝄫, C♭, D♭, E𝄫, F♭, G♭.

You may also see it called 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7.

On the staff

A♭B𝄫C♭D♭E𝄫F♭G♭A♭

On a treble staff, the A♭ locrian scale is written A♭ B𝄫 C♭ D♭ E𝄫 F♭ G♭.

This is one octave of the A♭ locrian scale, written on the treble clef. Guitar and bass music is written an octave higher than it sounds, and the small 8 under the clef is the sign for that.

Why the A♭ locrian scale has these flats

  1. A♭1
  2. S
  3. B𝄫♭2
  4. T
  5. C♭♭3
  6. T
  7. D♭4
  8. S
  9. E𝄫♭5
  10. T
  11. F♭♭6
  12. T
  13. G♭♭7
  14. T
  15. A♭8

A scale is a pattern of steps, and this one is S T T S T T T: a semitone, a tone, a tone, and so on. S stands for a semitone, the distance of one fret or one key. T stands for a tone, which is two semitones. The pattern is what gives A♭ locrian its sound, and it stays the same whichever note you start on.

The second rule is that a seven-note scale uses each letter name once, from A to G, so its seven notes take seven different letters. That is why A♭ locrian is spelled the way it is, rather than with whichever accidental looks tidier.

Together, the two rules leave no room for choice. If you walk the pattern up from A♭, six letters cannot keep up:

  • B𝄫 — the flat second. The pattern needs a semitone from A♭, but A♭ to B is only a tone and a half, so B has to fall to B𝄫.
  • C♭ — the flat third. The pattern needs a tone from B𝄫, but B𝄫 to C is only a tone and a half, so C has to fall to C♭.
  • D♭ — the fourth. The pattern needs a tone from C♭, but C♭ to D is only a tone and a half, so D has to fall to D♭.
  • E𝄫 — the flat fifth. The pattern needs a semitone from D♭, but D♭ to E is only a tone and a half, so E has to fall to E𝄫.
  • F♭ — the flat sixth. The pattern needs a tone from E𝄫, but E𝄫 to F is only a tone and a half, so F has to fall to F♭.
  • G♭ — the flat seventh. The pattern needs a tone from F♭, but F♭ to G is only a tone and a half, so G has to fall to G♭.

None of those accidentals was a choice. Once you pick the note to start on, the pattern decides the rest, and a key signature is a record of the result.

The A♭ locrian scale is written with A♭, B𝄫, C♭, D♭, E𝄫, F♭ and G♭. A♭ has its accidental because that is the key, and the other notes need theirs because the S T T S T T T pattern of steps cannot be spelled from A♭ with plain letters.

The pattern of steps is the part of a scale that never changes. The letter names take sharps or flats to fit that pattern, and a key signature is a record of those sharps or flats.

On the piano

C♭5E𝄫♭6F♭FG♭2B𝄫♭3C♭C♭5E𝄫♭6F♭FG♭2B𝄫♭3C♭C♭5E𝄫♭6F♭FG♭2B𝄫♭3C♭C4D♭D♯♭7G♭1A♭A♯4D♭D♯♭7G♭1A♭A♯4D♭D♯♭7G♭1A♭A♯C3C4C5C6

The keyboard shows the same seven notes as a shape you can see. The coloured keys are the A♭ locrian scale, and you can click any key to hear it.

A♭ locrian scale on the whole neck

GCEA123456789101112131415A♭1B𝄫♭2C♭♭3D♭4E𝄫♭5F♭♭6G♭♭7A♭1B𝄫♭2D♭4E𝄫♭5F♭♭6G♭♭7A♭1B𝄫♭2C♭♭3D♭4E𝄫♭5F♭♭6G♭♭7A♭1B𝄫♭2C♭♭3D♭4E𝄫♭5F♭♭6G♭♭7B𝄫♭2C♭♭3D♭4E𝄫♭5F♭♭6G♭♭7A♭1B𝄫♭2C♭♭3

36 notes of the A♭ locrian scale are marked across four strings.

This is every place the notes of the A♭ locrian scale fall on the ukulele, with each note's name and its scale degree. The roots are marked so you can find your bearings.

Position by position

Position 1 — starts on the 1
GCEA1234561♭2♭34♭5♭6♭71♭2♭34♭5
Position 2 — starts on the ♭2
GCEA234567♭2♭34♭5♭6♭7♭71♭2♭34♭5
Position 3 — starts on the ♭3
GCEA456789♭34♭5♭6♭711♭2♭34♭5♭6
Position 4 — starts on the 4
GCEA678910114♭5♭6♭71♭2♭34♭5♭6♭7
Position 5 — starts on the ♭5
GCEA789101112♭5♭6♭71♭2♭3♭34♭5♭6♭71
Position 6 — starts on the ♭6
GCEA91011121314♭6♭71♭2♭344♭5♭6♭71♭2
Position 7 — starts on the ♭7
GCEA111213141516♭71♭2♭34♭5♭6♭71♭2♭3

The A♭ locrian scale has seven playable positions, at frets 1–5, 2–6, 4–8, 6–10, 7–11, 9–13 and 11–15.

Each shape starts on a different degree of the scale and fits inside five frets, so your hand can play all of it without moving.

One climb up the neck

GCEA123456789101♭2♭34♭5♭6♭71♭2♭34♭5♭6♭7TAB12462464579579

The climb runs from fret 1 to fret 9 and plays fourteen notes.

This is one path from the lowest root to the top of the neck, and it plays each note once, never on two strings. It takes a different number of notes on different strings. The widest stretch on any one string is five frets.