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Guitar scale · harmonic & melodic

C# Locrian Natural 6 Scale

Mode 2 of Harmonic Minor: Locrian with a natural 6th.

Notes C#DEF#GA#B
Formula 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 ♭7
Steps H W W H W+H H W
Mood Dark, Tense, Unusual
Heard in Modal Improvisation, Jazz

Interactive scale diagram

C# Locrian Natural 6 Scale · Standard tuning

STR OP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 E A D G B E

Tap any note to hear it.

C# Locrian Natural 6 Scale tab: all 5 positions

Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.

Position 1 · E shape frets 9–13
e|---------------------------------------9-10-12-|
B|---------------------------------11-12---------|
G|-------------------------9-11-12---------------|
D|-----------------9-11-12-----------------------|
A|---------9-10-13-------------------------------|
E|-9-10-12---------------------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 11–15
e|-------------------------------------------12-14-15-|
B|----------------------------------12-14-15----------|
G|-------------------------11-12-15-------------------|
D|----------------11-12-14----------------------------|
A|----------13-14-------------------------------------|
E|-12-14-15-------------------------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 13–17
e|-------------------------------------------14-15-|
B|----------------------------------14-15-17-------|
G|----------------------------15-16----------------|
D|-------------------14-16-17----------------------|
A|-------13-14-16-17-------------------------------|
E|-14-15-------------------------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 16–20
e|-------------------------------------------18-19-|
B|----------------------------------17-19-20-------|
G|-------------------------16-18-19----------------|
D|----------------16-17-20-------------------------|
A|-------16-17-19----------------------------------|
E|-18-19-------------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 18–22
e|-------------------------------------------18-19-21-22-|
B|-------------------------------------19-20-------------|
G|----------------------------18-19-21-------------------|
D|----------------------20-21----------------------------|
A|-------------19-21-22----------------------------------|
E|-18-19-21-22-------------------------------------------|

How to play C# Locrian Natural 6 on guitar

Find the root first: C# is at fret 9 on the low E string and fret 4 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every C# 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 9–13. 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.

Degrees

DegreeNote
1 C#
♭2 D
♭3 E
4 F#
♭5 G
6 A#
♭7 B

Chords in C# Locrian Natural 6

Stack every other note of the scale and you get these seven chords. They are the chords that sound "at home" in C# Locrian Natural 6; tap one to see its shapes.

Degree Chord 7th chord Function
i° C#dim C#m7b5 Tonic
♭II+ Daug Dmaj7#5 Supertonic
♭iii Em Em7 Mediant
IV F# F#7 Subdominant
♭V G Gmaj7 Dominant
vi° A#dim A#dim7 Submediant
♭vii Bm Bm(maj7) Leading tone / subtonic

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Questions

What notes are in the C# Locrian Natural 6 Scale?
The C# Locrian Natural 6 Scale has 7 notes: C#, D, E, F#, G, A#, B.
What chords are in the C# Locrian Natural 6 Scale?
The chords of C# Locrian Natural 6 are C#dim (i°), Daug (♭II+), Em (♭iii), F# (IV), G (♭V), A#dim (vi°), Bm (♭vii).
What is the formula of the locrian natural 6 scale?
1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 ♭7, which is the step pattern H W W H W+H H W (W = whole step, H = half step).
Where do I play C# Locrian Natural 6 on the guitar?
The root C# is at fret 9 on the low E string and fret 4 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 9–13, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Locrian Natural 6 Scale in every key

More scales in C#