Locrian mode

The Locrian mode is the 7th mode of the major scale.

Its scale degrees are: 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7 8
Its intervals are: H W W H W W W
It’s a “minor” mode.

Descriptors:

  • Unstable
  • Exotic?
  • Dark
  • Intense

Chords:

  • For b2: bII, bVIIm
  • For b5: Iø7

Examples

  • Hutt on Fowl’s Legs (Pictures at an Exhibition) - Modest Mussorgsky (part of it)
  • Mikrokosmos #63 - Bartok
  • Fetes - Debussy (p.9)
  • Dust to Dust - John Kirkpatrick