So I was thinking about writing about Locrius who lived in Locria amongst the Locriites during the Locracious period but thought better of it and decided to stay with some of the more technical aspects relating to guitar playing and such!

THE LOCRIAN MODE

Primer on locating the Locrian on the guitar fretboard video

A very odd sounding scale that can evoke notions of the mysterious or ambivalence.
Is interesting because of the proximity of the m2nd right next to the ROOT and the 4th has a diminished or flat 5th rubBing up against it so to speak.
Who is the naughty one here!?
In relation to the Ionian in A Major, the Locrian has as its root G# / Ab.
By beginning the mode with this as the root point, the interval relationships change as they also do in the other modes.
No less than 4 minor intervals in this mode. m2nd, m3rd, m6th and m7th.
Plus the 5th is diminished, (a type of minor pitch relative to the ROOT) so there is technically 5 minor intervals!

playing in the Locrian mode

So much is off when compared to the relative Major that it practically begs for resolution.
That is to say it builds a sonic tension when expressed.
You don’t have to begin on the Root of course. But it does show its color when played against a chord based on it the intervals it contains.
Fingering such a chord does get the mind involved if we are not familiar employing the intervals in the mode in this way.
EXERCISE: Make up a chord with as may of the pitches in the mode as possible without repeating one i.e. an octave.
EXERCISE: Play the mode or a portion thereof against the chords suggested from the other intervals.
EXERCISE: Using the sonique spiderweb Dial in the intervals to the LOCRIAN MODE. You can reference the actual intervals on the outer perimeter of the SSW
ROOT, m2, m3, P4, dim5, m6, m7,

OR;
Knowing that the notes of A MAJOR are also the notes used in LOCRIAN G#/Ab find which intervals to display that way.
A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#

experiments

Experimentation is involved to get to the usefulness in expressing this mode in our playing.
Remember to develop our technique in the various modes by not just playing them forwards and backwards, but crossways and slideways!
The creative muscle is strengthened by searching out ways to make it relevant to our musical expression.
I discovered whilst generating a fret board diagram of the Locrian / Ionian in the key of A that, across some frets on all strings an associated pitch could be found that is in key . See Diagram.
I point this out as an additional exercise that does not demand too much mental effort looking for ‘pitches in key’ to make playing around with the scale an exercise in exploration and finger gymnastics without the associated ‘is that a relative pitch to the scale’ thought process.
So in this case the relative pitches are found on all strings at the 2nd 7th and 9th fret.

Try that on for fun!

MERCI