G♯ locrian scale on ukulele

G♯ · A · B · C♯ · D · E · F♯

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

The notes

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

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

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

On the staff

G♯ABC♯DEF♯G♯

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

This is one octave of the G♯ locrian scale, written on the treble clef. Ukulele music is written where it sounds, so the clef has no 8 under it.

Why the G♯ locrian scale has these sharps

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

  • C♯ — the fourth. The pattern needs a tone from B, but B to C is only a semitone, so C has to rise to C♯.
  • F♯ — the flat seventh. The pattern needs a tone from E, but E to F is only a semitone, so F has to rise to F♯.

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 G♯ locrian scale is written with G♯, C♯ and F♯. G♯ 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 G♯ 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♭5D♭6EFG♭2A♭3BC♭5D♭6EFG♭2A♭3BC♭5D♭6EFG♭2A♭3BC4C♯D♯♭7F♯1G♯A♯4C♯D♯♭7F♯1G♯A♯4C♯D♯♭7F♯1G♯A♯C3C4C5C6

The keyboard shows the same seven notes as a shape you can see. The coloured keys are the G♯ locrian scale.

G♯ locrian scale on the whole neck

GCEA123456789101112131415G♯1A♭2B♭3C♯4D♭5E♭6F♯♭7G♯1A♭2C♯4D♭5E♭6F♯♭7G♯1A♭2B♭3C♯4D♭5E♭6F♯♭7G♯1A♭2B♭3C♯4D♭5E♭6F♯♭7A♭2B♭3C♯4D♭5E♭6F♯♭7G♯1A♭2B♭3

36 notes of the G♯ locrian scale are marked across four strings.

This is every place the notes of the G♯ 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 G♯ 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.

The words on this page were written with the help of AI and may contain a mistake. Its diagrams are drawn by Everyfret’s own software. How Everyfret is made