Locrian Mode Piano Scales

What is the Locrian Mode?

The Locrian mode is the seventh and final mode of the diatonic scale, built by starting on the seventh degree of the major scale. It follows the interval pattern: H-W-W-H-W-W-W (half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step).

For example, B Locrian (derived from C major) consists of: B, C, D, E, F, G, A, (and back to B).

What makes Locrian uniquely unstable are its flattened second and fifth degrees. The flattened fifth in particular creates a diminished fifth interval between the tonic and the fifth degree, replacing the perfect fifth that provides stability in all other modes. This diminished fifth (tritone) creates Locrian's characteristic tension and instability.

Why Practice the Locrian Mode?

Practicing the Locrian mode offers several distinctive benefits:

1. Tonal expansion - Explores the most dissonant territories of the modal system
2. Creative inspiration - Stimulates unusual melodic and harmonic ideas
3. Metal applications - Valuable in extreme metal, progressive, and experimental music
4. Improvisational contrast - Creates dramatic tension against more stable modes
5. Technical development - Enhances familiarity with an uncommon scale pattern

Famous Compositions Using the Locrian Mode

Due to its extreme instability, pure Locrian mode is rarely used for entire compositions, but appears in sections or as coloration in various works:

• "Army of Me" by Björk (contains Locrian elements)
• "YYZ" by Rush (bass riff employs Locrian mode)
• Dust to Dust by John Kirkpatrick (folk song in Locrian)
• Portions of Rachmaninoff's Prelude in B Minor
• Sections of Sibelius' Symphony No. 4
• "Jeux" by Claude Debussy (contains Locrian passages)
• Various metal compositions, especially in death and black metal genres
• Jazz improvisation over half-diminished chords

The Locrian mode's name comes from the ancient Greek region of Locris, though medieval music theorists established its current form. Unlike other modes that found practical applications in early music, Locrian was primarily theoretical due to its unstable nature. It gained more practical use in 20th-century classical, jazz, and later in metal and experimental music.

For piano students, the Locrian mode offers a challenging but rewarding exploration into extreme tonal colors. The diminished fifth creates a fundamental instability that constantly seeks resolution, making it particularly effective for creating tension before resolving to more stable modes. Jazz musicians often use Locrian when improvising over half-diminished seventh chords.

Mastering the Locrian mode expands your pianistic vocabulary to include its uniquely dark, unresolved quality. While you might not use it as frequently as other modes, understanding its distinctive character allows you to incorporate its tension-building properties for dramatic effect, creating moments of maximum dissonance and unease before resolution.

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