F♯ locrian scale on bass

F♯ · G · A · B · C · D · E

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

The notes

  1. F♯1
  2. G♭2
  3. A♭3
  4. B4
  5. C♭5
  6. D♭6
  7. E♭7

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

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

On the staff

F♯GABCDEF♯

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

This is one octave of the F♯ locrian 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 F♯ locrian scale has this sharp

  1. F♯1
  2. S
  3. G♭2
  4. T
  5. A♭3
  6. T
  7. B4
  8. S
  9. C♭5
  10. T
  11. D♭6
  12. T
  13. E♭7
  14. T
  15. F♯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 F♯ 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 F♯ locrian is spelled the way it is, rather than with whichever accidental looks tidier.

Apart from the tonic, no note needs a sharp or a flat, because every other letter already falls where the pattern needs it.

The F♯ locrian scale is written with F♯. Only the tonic carries an accidental, and that comes from the key you picked rather than from the S T T S T T T pattern of steps.

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

♭5C♭6D♭7EF♭2G♭3A4B♭5C♭6D♭7EF♭2G♭3A4B♭5C♭6D♭7EF♭2G♭3A4B♭5CC♯D♯1F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯1F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯1F♯G♯A♯C1C2C3C4

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

F♯ locrian scale on the whole neck

EADG123456789101112131415E♭7F♯1G♭2A♭3B4C♭5D♭6E♭7F♯1G♭2A♭3B4C♭5D♭6E♭7F♯1G♭2A♭3B4C♭5D♭6E♭7F♯1G♭2A♭3B4C♭5D♭6E♭7G♭2A♭3B4C♭5D♭6E♭7F♯1G♭2A♭3

49 notes of the F♯ locrian scale are marked across four strings.

This is every place the notes of the F♯ locrian scale fall on the 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 1
EADG2345671♭2♭34♭5♭6♭71♭2♭34♭5
Position 2 — starts on the ♭2
EADG345678♭2♭34♭5♭6♭71♭2♭34♭5♭6
Position 3 — starts on the ♭3
EADG5678910♭34♭5♭6♭71♭2♭34♭5♭6♭7
Position 4 — starts on the 4
EADG7891011124♭5♭6♭71♭2♭34♭5♭6♭71
Position 5 — starts on the ♭5
EADG8910111213♭5♭6♭71♭2♭34♭5♭6♭71♭2
Position 6 — starts on the ♭6
EADG101112131415♭6♭71♭2♭34♭5♭6♭71♭2♭3
Position 7 — starts on the ♭7
EADG121314151617♭71♭2♭34♭5♭6♭71♭2♭34

The F♯ locrian scale has seven playable positions, at frets 2–6, 3–7, 5–9, 7–11, 8–12, 10–14 and 12–16.

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

EADG23456789101♭2♭34♭5♭6♭71♭2♭34♭5♭6♭7TAB23573574579579

The climb runs from fret 2 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.