F# Locrian
The F# Locrian mode (also written Gb) — F# G A B C D E — shown across the guitar neck.
Also written Gb Locrian. Gb and F# are the same pitch, though spelling it from Gb would need double accidentals (Gb Abb Bbb Cb Dbb Ebb Fb), which is why F# is the name in use.
Tap any note on the neck.
Swipe the neck sideways to see the higher frets.
F# Locrian is the natural minor with the b2 and b5 — G and C. Those are the notes that give it its character.
What is F# Locrian?
F# Locrian is the seven notes F# G A B C D E — the notes of G major started from its 7th degree, F#. Same seven notes as the parent, but with F# as home, so the intervals and the sound are different.
F# Locrian vs F# 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 G in Locrian, where F# natural minor has 2, G#.
- b5 is C in Locrian, where F# natural minor has 5, C#.
Play F# natural minor and F# Locrian back to back over a F#m chord and listen for G and C — those are the notes to lean on.
Chords in F# Locrian
Stack the mode in thirds and each degree becomes a chord. The home chord is F#dim; the rest are the chords of G 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.
F# Locrian on the guitar neck
Because F# Locrian is G major from its 7th note, its natural fingering is position 7 of the seven three-notes-per-string shapes of G major — the shape whose lowest note is F#. Learn that shape with F# as home — start and end on it, over a drone on F# — and you have the mode under your fingers. Play the same shape with G as home and you hear G major instead. The other six positions are the fingerings for the other six modes of the same key.
How to practice F# Locrian on guitar
- Loop position 7 of G major at 60 BPM, starting and ending on F# so your ear hears F# as home rather than G.
- Hold a F#dim chord (or record one) and play the shape over it. Land on G and C 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 F# Locrian from its own root: the orange dots are on F# and the degrees count from it. The notes are its parent key's, G major; to hear Locrian, start and end on F#.
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