Guitar scale · half-diminished scale
Ab Locrian Natural 2 Scale
Mode 6 of Melodic Minor: Locrian with a natural 2nd, which softens the most unstable mode.
Tap any note to hear it.
Ab Locrian Natural 2 Scale tab: all 5 positions
Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.
e|-----------------------------4-6-7-| B|-------------------------5-7-------| G|-------------------4-6-7-----------| D|-------------4-6-8-----------------| A|-------4-5-7-----------------------| E|-4-6-7-----------------------------|
e|------------------------------6-7-9-10-| B|--------------------------7-9----------| G|--------------------6-7-9--------------| D|--------------6-8-9--------------------| A|----------7-9--------------------------| E|-6-7-9-10------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------9-10-12-| B|-----------------------------9-11-12---------| G|------------------------9-11-----------------| D|--------------8-9-11-12----------------------| A|---------9-11--------------------------------| E|-9-10-12-------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------12-14-| B|----------------------------------12-14-15-------| G|-------------------------11-13-15----------------| D|----------------11-12-14-------------------------| A|-------11-13-14----------------------------------| E|-12-14-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------14-16-| B|----------------------------------14-15-17-------| G|-------------------------13-15-16----------------| D|-------------------14-16-------------------------| A|-------13-14-16-17-------------------------------| E|-14-16-------------------------------------------|
How to play Ab Locrian Natural 2 on guitar
Find the root first: Ab is at fret 4 on the low E string and fret 11 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Ab on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (♭3, ♭5, ♭7), the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.
Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 4–8. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.
Ab Locrian Natural 2 is also written G# Locrian Natural 2: G# A# B C# D E F#. The frets are the same; under that name every note keeps its own letter, with no double sharps or flats.
Degrees
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | Ab |
| 2 | Bb |
| ♭3 | Cb |
| 4 | Db |
| ♭5 | D |
| ♭6 | Fb |
| ♭7 | Gb |
Chords in Ab Locrian Natural 2
Stack every other note of the scale and you get these seven chords. They are the chords that sound "at home" in Ab Locrian Natural 2; tap one to see its shapes.
| Degree | Chord | 7th chord | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| i° | Abdim | Abm7b5 | Tonic |
| ii° | Bbdim | Bbm7b5 | Supertonic |
| ♭iii | Cbm | Cbm(maj7) | Mediant |
| iv | Dbm | Dbm7 | Subdominant |
| ♭V+ | Daug | Dmaj7#5 | Dominant |
| ♭VI | Fb | Fb7 | Submediant |
| ♭VII | Gb | Gb7 | Leading tone / subtonic |
Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android
Practise Ab Locrian Natural 2 anywhere, even offline.
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Questions
- What notes are in the Ab Locrian Natural 2 Scale?
- The Ab Locrian Natural 2 Scale has 7 notes: Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, D, Fb, Gb.
- What chords are in the Ab Locrian Natural 2 Scale?
- The chords of Ab Locrian Natural 2 are Abdim (i°), Bbdim (ii°), Cbm (♭iii), Dbm (iv), Daug (♭V+), Fb (♭VI), Gb (♭VII).
- What is the formula of the locrian natural 2 scale?
- 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7, which is the step pattern W H W H W W W (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play Ab Locrian Natural 2 on the guitar?
- The root Ab is at fret 4 on the low E string and fret 11 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 4–8, and four more positions connect it up the neck.