Scale Detail
C Locrian — C C Locrian
The C Locrian scale is the seventh and most unstable mode of the major scale. With a flat second and flat fifth above the root, it creates a diminished tonic — the only mode that cannot easily establish tonal stability, making it theoretical but powerful for tension.
Formula: H – W – W – H – W – W – W
Extremely unstable, dark, dissonant, and theoretical. The only mode without a perfect fifth above the root.
The Locrian mode starts on the seventh degree of the major scale. Its formula H–W–W–H–W–W–W produces the most dissonant of all diatonic modes. Starting on C, this gives C, C#, Eb, F, F#, Ab, Bb. The two defining characteristics are: (1) a minor second above the root (just one semitone up, like Phrygian), and (2) a diminished fifth — the root chord is a diminished triad, making it impossible to establish a stable tonal center. In practice, pure Locrian is rarely used melodically because the ear constantly wants to resolve away from the tonic. However, the Locrian mode is theoretically important: it corresponds to the vii° chord in major keys and to the iiø7 chord in jazz (the half-diminished chord). Jazz musicians occasionally improvise in Locrian over half-diminished chords in minor ii–V–i progressions.
Locrian is the most harmonically unstable mode, built on the 7th scale degree. Its tonic chord is diminished — there is no stable home — which is why it's rarely used melodically but powerful for creating extreme dissonance and unsettled energy.
🌑 Other dark sounds to explore
Chords that naturally occur in the C Locrian Scale:
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