Scales › Locrian ♭♭3 ♭♭7

Locrian ♭♭3 ♭♭7 scale

doubly diminished Locrian

7 notes

RC b9Db bb3Ebb 11F b5Gb b13Ab bb7Bbb

guide tones (3rd & 7th — the heart of the sound) avoid (strong clash)

C · Db · Ebb · F · Gb · Ab · Bbb

Play in the key of

Locrian ♭♭3 ♭♭7 on the guitar: the fretboard diagram

Here is the Locrian ♭♭3 ♭♭7 scale laid out across the whole neck, from fret 0 to fret 15. The guide tones (3rd and 7th) are highlighted — they're what makes the scale's color sing. Use the key selector above to shift the shape along the neck and find the positions in your key.

E 11 b5 b13 bb7 R b9 bb3 11 b5 B R b9 bb3 11 b5 b13 bb7 R b9 bb3 G b13 bb7 R b9 bb3 11 b5 b13 bb7 D bb3 11 b5 b13 bb7 R b9 bb3 11 A bb7 R b9 bb3 11 b5 b13 bb7 R E 11 b5 b13 bb7 R b9 bb3 11 b5 0123456789101112131415

What color?

Locrian with bb3 and bb7: an extremely chromatic, tightly packed mode, crowded on its lower degrees, almost atonal. The most exotic and unstable color of the double harmonic, to handle as a very tense passing color.

Origin & history

The seventh mode of the double harmonic, almost entirely diminished. A theoretical construction, reserved for exploration.

Which chords to play it on?

Outside the functional consensus: this is an exploration color. Lay it over a vamp or a held chord to tint your improvisation with an unexpected flavor, rather than inside a cadence.

Sibling modes

The Locrian ♭♭3 ♭♭7 scale is one of the modes of the double harmonic scale : it shares exactly the same notes as the modes below, but built on a different degree of the parent scale (double harmonic major (Byzantine)).

double harmonic major (Byzantine) Byzantine, two augmented seconds Lydian ♯2 ♯6 exotic Lydian ♯2 ♯6 ultraphrygian diminished Phrygian bb7 Hungarian minor Hungarian minor, double augmented second Oriental Oriental, double augmented second Ionian ♯2 ♯5 exotic major ♯2 ♯5

Try it in a real chart

Paste a chord chart into the tool: Pentania tells you, chord by chord, when this scale fits — and what other colors are open to you. Open the tool →