E♭ locrian scale on drop D guitar

E♭ · F♭ · G♭ · A♭ · B𝄫 · C♭ · D♭

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

The notes

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

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

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

On the staff

E♭F♭G♭A♭B𝄫C♭D♭E♭

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

This is one octave of the E♭ 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 E♭ locrian scale has these flats

  1. E♭1
  2. S
  3. F♭♭2
  4. T
  5. G♭♭3
  6. T
  7. A♭4
  8. S
  9. B𝄫♭5
  10. T
  11. C♭♭6
  12. T
  13. D♭♭7
  14. T
  15. E♭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 E♭ 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 E♭ 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 E♭, six letters cannot keep up:

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

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 E♭ locrian scale is written with E♭, F♭, G♭, A♭, B𝄫, C♭ and D♭. E♭ 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 E♭ 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

CD♭2F♭FG♭5B𝄫♭6C♭CD♭2F♭FG♭5B𝄫♭6C♭CD♭2F♭FG♭5B𝄫♭6C♭CD♭2F♭FG♭5B𝄫♭6C♭C♭7D♭1E♭♭3G♭4A♭A♯♭7D♭1E♭♭3G♭4A♭A♯♭7D♭1E♭♭3G♭4A♭A♯♭7D♭1E♭♭3G♭4A♭A♯C2C3C4C5C6

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

E♭ locrian scale on the whole neck

DADGBE123456789101112131415E♭1F♭♭2G♭♭3A♭4B𝄫♭5C♭♭6D♭♭7E♭1F♭♭2B𝄫♭5C♭♭6D♭♭7E♭1F♭♭2G♭♭3A♭4B𝄫♭5C♭♭6E♭1F♭♭2G♭♭3A♭4B𝄫♭5C♭♭6D♭♭7E♭1F♭♭2A♭4B𝄫♭5C♭♭6D♭♭7E♭1F♭♭2G♭♭3A♭4B𝄫♭5C♭♭6D♭♭7E♭1F♭♭2G♭♭3A♭4B𝄫♭5C♭♭6D♭♭7F♭♭2G♭♭3A♭4B𝄫♭5C♭♭6D♭♭7E♭1F♭♭2G♭♭3

79 notes of the E♭ locrian scale are marked across six strings.

This is every place the notes of the E♭ locrian scale fall on the drop D guitar, 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
DADGBE1234561♭2♭3♭6♭71♭2♭34♭5♭6♭71♭2♭34♭5
Position 2 — starts on the ♭2
DADGBE234567♭2♭34♭6♭71♭2♭34♭5♭6♭7♭71♭2♭34♭5
Position 3 — starts on the ♭3
DADGBE456789♭34♭5♭71♭2♭34♭5♭6♭711♭2♭34♭5♭6
Position 4 — starts on the 4
DADGBE678910114♭5♭61♭2♭34♭5♭6♭71♭2♭34♭5♭6♭7
Position 5 — starts on the ♭5
DADGBE789101112♭5♭6♭7♭2♭34♭5♭6♭71♭2♭3♭34♭5♭6♭71
Position 6 — starts on the ♭6
DADGBE91011121314♭6♭71♭34♭5♭6♭71♭2♭344♭5♭6♭71♭2
Position 7 — starts on the ♭7
DADGBE111213141516♭71♭24♭5♭6♭71♭2♭34♭5♭6♭71♭2♭3

The E♭ 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

DADGBE123456789101♭2♭34♭5♭6♭71♭2♭34♭5♭6♭71♭2♭34♭5♭6♭7TAB124602412462464579579

The climb runs from fret 0 to fret 9 and plays 21 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.