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Guitar scale · half-diminished scale

F Locrian Natural 2 Scale

Mode 6 of Melodic Minor: Locrian with a natural 2nd, which softens the most unstable mode.

Notes FGAbBbCbDbEb
Formula 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Steps W H W H W W W
Mood Dark, Smooth, Tense
Heard in Over m7♭5 and m9♭5 chords, Jazz

Interactive scale diagram

F Locrian Natural 2 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.

F 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.

Position 1 · E shape frets 1–5
e|-----------------------------1-3-4-|
B|-------------------------2-4-------|
G|-------------------1-3-4-----------|
D|-------------1-3-5-----------------|
A|-------1-2-4-----------------------|
E|-1-3-4-----------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 3–7
e|-----------------------------3-4-6-7-|
B|-------------------------4-6---------|
G|-------------------3-4-6-------------|
D|-------------3-5-6-------------------|
A|---------4-6-------------------------|
E|-3-4-6-7-----------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 5–9
e|-----------------------------6-7-9-|
B|-----------------------6-8-9-------|
G|-------------------6-8-------------|
D|-----------5-6-8-9-----------------|
A|-------6-8-------------------------|
E|-6-7-9-----------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 8–12
e|-------------------------------------9-11-|
B|-----------------------------9-11-12------|
G|---------------------8-10-12--------------|
D|--------------8-9-11----------------------|
A|------8-10-11-----------------------------|
E|-9-11-------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 10–14
e|-------------------------------------------11-13-|
B|----------------------------------11-12-14-------|
G|-------------------------10-12-13----------------|
D|-------------------11-13-------------------------|
A|-------10-11-13-14-------------------------------|
E|-11-13-------------------------------------------|

How to play F Locrian Natural 2 on guitar

Find the root first: F is at fret 1 on the low E string and fret 8 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every F 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 1–5. 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 F
2 G
♭3 Ab
4 Bb
♭5 Cb
♭6 Db
♭7 Eb

Chords in F 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 F Locrian Natural 2; tap one to see its shapes.

Degree Chord 7th chord Function
i° Fdim Fm7b5 Tonic
ii° Gdim Gm7b5 Supertonic
♭iii Abm Abm(maj7) Mediant
iv Bbm Bbm7 Subdominant
♭V+ Cbaug Cbmaj7#5 Dominant
♭VI Db Db7 Submediant
♭VII Eb Eb7 Leading tone / subtonic

Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android

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Questions

What notes are in the F Locrian Natural 2 Scale?
The F Locrian Natural 2 Scale has 7 notes: F, G, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb.
What chords are in the F Locrian Natural 2 Scale?
The chords of F Locrian Natural 2 are Fdim (i°), Gdim (ii°), Abm (♭iii), Bbm (iv), Cbaug (♭V+), Db (♭VI), Eb (♭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 F Locrian Natural 2 on the guitar?
The root F is at fret 1 on the low E string and fret 8 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 1–5, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Locrian Natural 2 Scale in every key

More scales in F