From the course: Music Theory for Songwriters: Harmony

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Locrian mode and the whole tone scale

Locrian mode and the whole tone scale

From the course: Music Theory for Songwriters: Harmony

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Locrian mode and the whole tone scale

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The last mode of the diatonic scale is the Locrian mode, and it is by far the rarest of the modes used in modern song writing. It's the mode built on the seventh degree of the major scale and sounds like this. In order to figure out a C Locrian mode, I'll look at a D flat major scale. I'll play D flat up. (piano playing) Then I'll go to the seventh note of the D flat major scale, which is C. (plays piano note) And I'll play all the same notes, starting on C. (piano playing) Here it is compared to a C major scale. (piano playing) And now, C Locrian. (piano playing) Let's hear that on the guitar. (guitar playing) It's got a very unusual sound, because the triad built on the tonic of the Locrian mode is actually a diminished chord. To find out the tonic chord of C Locrian, we start with the tonic of C, (plays piano note) skip the second note of D flat, play the third note of E flat. (plays piano note) Skip the fourth note of F and play the fifth note of G flat. (plays piano notes) This…

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