G♯ Locrian (G# Locrian) scale on guitar
G♯ Locrian has 7 notes: G♯ A B C♯ D E F♯. Degrees: 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7. Formula: H W W H W W W.
What notes are in the G♯ Locrian scale?
G♯, A, B, C♯, D, E and F♯. It has 7 notes; its formula in whole and half steps is H W W H W W W.
What does G♯ Locrian sound like, and when do you use it?
Unstable, no perfect fifth: pure tension that wants to move. Use it over m7♭5 · the vii of a major key (the ii of a minor ii–V).
Chords in G♯ Locrian
| Degree | Triad | Seventh chord |
|---|---|---|
| i° | G♯° | G♯m7♭5 |
| ♭II | A | Amaj7 |
| ♭iii | Bm | Bm7 |
| iv | C♯m | C♯m7 |
| ♭V | D | Dmaj7 |
| ♭VI | E | E7 |
| ♭vii | F♯m | F♯m7 |
Chord progressions to improvise with G♯ Locrian
In Jam mode (the Jam button above) a band of grand piano, upright bass and drums (recorded instruments) plays these progressions as swing, bossa, groove or ballad, and the fretboard lights up the notes of each chord as it plays. It's a backing track made for this scale in G♯:
- Locrian vamp (iø7–♭IImaj7): G♯m7♭5 | Amaj7. No perfect fifth: the D is the color. The ♭II gives the A somewhere to land.
- Modal (iø7): a G♯m7♭5 vamp. A sustained half-diminished chord: pure tension that wants to move.
G♯ Locrian positions on guitar
In standard tuning (E A D G B E), with 3 notes per string, G♯ Locrian is played in 7 positions along the neck:
- Position 1: frets 4 to 9 (starts on the root)
- Position 2: frets 5 to 10
- Position 3: frets 7 to 12
- Position 4: frets 9 to 14
- Position 5: frets 10 to 16
- Position 6: frets 0 to 5
- Position 7: frets 2 to 7
Same notes as
A major · F♯ natural minor · A Ionian · B Dorian · C♯ Phrygian · D Lydian · E Mixolydian · F♯ Aeolian