ArpeggiosEN

Scale quality

locrian ♮6

Locrian natural six is the second degree of harmonic minor: the unstable locrian shape with a raised sixth that softens the darkness. The flat second and flat fifth remain, but the natural sixth removes the harshest edge and gives the scale a warm, bittersweet quality. It is the sound of the m7♭5 chord when the harmony wants to move smoothly, and the standard scale for the ii chord in a minor ii–V–i where the natural sixth avoids the augmented interval. Jazz players use it over half-diminished chords that resolve to a dominant. Listen for the sixth brightening the flat fifth's gloom.

Formula
1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 ♭7
Notes
C♯ D E F♯ G A♯ B
Family
Harmonic minor modes

Notation in C♯

representative key
441♭2♭34♭56♭71

Fretboard — frets 0–12

C♯ locrian ♮6 — frets 0 to 12, 47 notes, roots in orange♭34♭56♭71♭2♭3♭71♭2♭34♭56♭7♭56♭71♭2♭34♭5♭2♭34♭56♭71♭26♭71♭2♭34♭5♭34♭56♭71♭2♭30123456789101112
C♯ locrian ♮6 — frets 0 to 12, 47 notes, roots in orange♭34♭56♭71♭2♭3♭71♭2♭34♭56♭7♭56♭71♭2♭34♭5♭2♭34♭56♭71♭26♭71♭2♭34♭5♭34♭56♭71♭2♭30123456789101112

All 17 keys

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Same family

How to practise this scale

  • Play the natural sixth and hear it soften the flat fifth.
  • Improvise over an m7♭5 chord that resolves through a minor ii–V.
  • Compare it with locrian and hear what the raised sixth changes.
  • Play the scale slowly and listen for the absence of the augmented second.