Scales › Locrian ♭♭7

Locrian ♭♭7 scale

diminished Locrian bb7

7 notes

RC b9Db b3Eb 11F b5Gb b13Ab bb7Bbb

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

C · Db · Eb · F · Gb · Ab · Bbb

Play in the key of

Locrian ♭♭7 on the guitar: the fretboard diagram

Here is the Locrian ♭♭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 b3 11 b5 B R b9 b3 11 b5 b13 bb7 R b9 G b13 bb7 R b9 b3 11 b5 b13 bb7 D b3 11 b5 b13 bb7 R b9 b3 11 A bb7 R b9 b3 11 b5 b13 bb7 R E 11 b5 b13 bb7 R b9 b3 11 b5 0123456789101112131415

What color?

Locrian whose seventh is doubly lowered (bb7), turning the half-diminished into a dim7 color. A rare mode from harmonic major, dark and unstable, that opens an unexpected angle on a diminished chord.

Origin & history

The seventh mode of the harmonic major, diminished in its upper part. A theoretical construction, to be 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 ♭♭7 scale is one of the modes of the harmonic major : it shares exactly the same notes as the modes below, but built on a different degree of the parent scale (harmonic major (Ionian ♭6)).

harmonic major (Ionian ♭6) major with a bittersweet ♭6 Dorian ♭5 Dorian with diminished fifth Phrygian ♭4 Phrygian with lowered eleventh Lydian ♭3 (Lydian diminished) diminished minor Lydian Mixolydian ♭2 dominant with a colorful b9 Lydian augmented ♯2 exotic Lydian augmented ♯2

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 →