E locrian ♮6 scale on 5-string bass

E · F · G · A · B♭ · C♯ · D

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

The notes

  1. E1
  2. F♭2
  3. G♭3
  4. A4
  5. B♭♭5
  6. C♯6
  7. D♭7

The E locrian ♮6 scale is E, F, G, A, B♭, C♯, D.

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

On the staff

EFGAB♭C♯DE

On a bass staff, the E locrian ♮6 scale is written E F G A B♭ C♯ D.

This is one octave of the E locrian ♮6 scale, written on the bass 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 ♮6 scale has these accidentals

  1. E1
  2. S
  3. F♭2
  4. T
  5. G♭3
  6. T
  7. A4
  8. S
  9. B♭♭5
  10. T+S
  11. C♯6
  12. S
  13. D♭7
  14. T
  15. E8

A scale is a pattern of steps, and this one is S T T S T+S S 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. T+S stands for a tone and a half, which is three semitones. The pattern is what gives E locrian ♮6 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 ♮6 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, two letters cannot keep up:

  • B♭ — the flat fifth. The pattern needs a semitone from A, but A to B is only a tone, so B has to fall to B♭.
  • C♯ — the sixth. The pattern needs a tone and a half from B♭, but B♭ to C is only a tone, so C has to rise to C♯.

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 ♮6 scale is written with B♭ and C♯, because the S T T S T+S S T pattern of steps cannot be spelled with plain letters from E.

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♭7D1E♭2F♭3G4ABC♭7D1E♭2F♭3G4ABC♭7D1E♭2F♭3G4ABC♭7D1E♭2F♭3G4ABC6C♯D♯F♯G♯♭5B♭6C♯D♯F♯G♯♭5B♭6C♯D♯F♯G♯♭5B♭6C♯D♯F♯G♯♭5B♭C0C1C2C3C4

The keyboard shows the same seven notes as a shape you can see. The coloured keys are the E locrian ♮6 scale, and you can click any key to hear it.

E locrian ♮6 scale on the whole neck

BEADG123456789101112131415C♯6D♭7E1F♭2G♭3A4B♭♭5C♯6D♭7E1F♭2G♭3A4B♭♭5C♯6D♭7E1F♭2G♭3A4B♭♭5C♯6D♭7E1F♭2G♭3A4B♭♭5D♭7E1F♭2G♭3A4B♭♭5C♯6D♭7E1F♭2G♭3A4B♭♭5C♯6D♭7E1F♭2G♭3A4B♭♭5

64 notes of the E locrian ♮6 scale are marked across five strings.

This is every place the notes of the E locrian ♮6 scale fall on the 5-string bass, 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 6
BEADG2345676♭71♭2♭34♭56♭71♭2♭34♭56
Position 2 — starts on the ♭7
BEADG345678♭71♭2♭34♭56♭71♭2♭34♭56♭7
Position 3 — starts on the 1
BEADG56789101♭2♭34♭56♭71♭2♭34♭56♭71
Position 4 — starts on the ♭2
BEADG67891011♭2♭34♭56♭71♭2♭34♭56♭71♭2
Position 5 — starts on the ♭3
BEADG8910111213♭34♭56♭71♭2♭34♭56♭71♭2♭3
Position 6 — starts on the 4
BEADG1011121314154♭56♭71♭2♭34♭56♭71♭2♭34
Position 7 — starts on the ♭5
BEADG111213141516♭56♭71♭2♭34♭56♭71♭2♭34♭5

The E locrian ♮6 scale has seven playable positions, at frets 2–6, 3–7, 5–9, 6–10, 8–12, 10–14 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

BEADG567891011121314151♭2♭34♭56♭71♭2♭34♭56♭71♭2♭34TAB568106910781012811129101214

The climb runs from fret 5 to fret 14 and plays eighteen 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.