Scale Detail
F# Locrian — F# F♯ Locrian
The F# 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 F#, this gives F#, G, A, B, C, D, E. 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 F♯ Locrian Scale:
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