Locrian Mode
Unstable, dissonant, tense, unresolved
Locrian on the Fretboard
Showing B Locrian across the neck (frets 0–12). Orange = root, blue = characteristic note.
Understanding Locrian
Locrian is the most dissonant mode. Its ♭5 means even the root triad is diminished — there's no stable 'home' to rest on. It's rarely used as a key center but appears in specific musical contexts.
The Characteristic Note
The ♭5 (diminished 5th / tritone from the root) is what makes Locrian feel fundamentally unstable. Every other mode has a perfect 5th that grounds it. Locrian doesn't, so it perpetually feels like it wants to resolve somewhere else.
Chords & Progressions
Locrian shows up over m7♭5 (half-diminished) chords, which typically function as ii chords in minor keys. You'll hear it in jazz over Bm7♭5 → E7 → Am progressions. Some metal bands use Locrian for its extreme darkness.
Diatonic Chords in B Locrian
Bm7♭5, Cmaj7, Dm7, Em7, Fmaj7, G7, Am7
Genres & Artists
Jazz (over half-dim chords), progressive metal, avant-garde
Quick Reference
| Mode Number | VII |
| Formula | 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 |
| Step Pattern | H W W H W W W |
| Notes (from B) | B C D E F G A |
| Quality | Diminished |
| Characteristic Note | ♭5 — the diminished 5th makes even the root chord unstable |
| Genres | Jazz (over half-dim chords), progressive metal, avant-garde |