D# Locrian
The D# Locrian mode (also written Eb) — D# E F# G# A B C# — shown across the guitar neck.
Also written Eb Locrian. Eb and D# are the same pitch, though spelling it from Eb would need double accidentals (Eb Fb Gb Ab Bbb Cb Db), which is why D# is the name in use.
Tap any note on the neck.
Swipe the neck sideways to see the higher frets.
D# Locrian is the natural minor with the b2 and b5 — E and A. Those are the notes that give it its character.
What is D# Locrian?
D# Locrian is the seven notes D# E F# G# A B C# — the notes of E major started from its 7th degree, D#. Same seven notes as the parent, but with D# as home, so the intervals and the sound are different.
D# Locrian vs D# natural minor
5 of the seven notes are the same. The difference is 2 notes, and that is the whole character of the mode:
- b2 is E in Locrian, where D# natural minor has 2, F.
- b5 is A in Locrian, where D# natural minor has 5, Bb.
Play D# natural minor and D# Locrian back to back over a D#m chord and listen for E and A — those are the notes to lean on.
Chords in D# Locrian
Stack the mode in thirds and each degree becomes a chord. The home chord is D#dim; the rest are the chords of E major, since the notes are the same — what changes is which one the music rests on. There is no settled two-chord vamp for Locrian: its home chord is diminished, which is why the mode is heard as a passing colour over other harmony more often than as a key of its own.
D# Locrian on the guitar neck
Because D# Locrian is E major from its 7th note, its natural fingering is position 7 of the seven three-notes-per-string shapes of E major — the shape whose lowest note is D#. Learn that shape with D# as home — start and end on it, over a drone on D# — and you have the mode under your fingers. Play the same shape with E as home and you hear E major instead. The other six positions are the fingerings for the other six modes of the same key.
How to practice D# Locrian on guitar
- Loop position 7 of E major at 60 BPM, starting and ending on D# so your ear hears D# as home rather than E.
- Hold a D#dim chord (or record one) and play the shape over it. Land on E and A on the strong beats — that is the sound of Locrian.
- Hear it harmonized in 3rds on the Fretboard: press Play and every note sounds with its partner while the neck lights up.
The tool draws D# Locrian from its own root: the orange dots are on D# and the degrees count from it. The notes are its parent key's, E major; to hear Locrian, start and end on D#.
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