B Locrian Mode on the Guitar – 5 CAGED Positions, Tabs and Theory

‘B locrian’ is the 7th mode of the C Major scale. The notes in B locrian are:

B – C – D – E – F – G – A

If you have read the post on understanding the locrian mode, you will know that the locrian mode contains a ‘flat 2’, a ‘flat 3’ a ‘flat 5’ a ‘flat 6’ and a ‘flat 7’ (parallel approach). You will also know that it is the 7th mode of the major scale (derivative approach). The locrian mode is a very ‘dark’ sounding mode and is probably the hardest of the 7 modes to get acquainted with. Let’s briefly look at how to construct B locrian using both the parallel approach and the derivative approach.

B Locrian Mode Using The Parallel Approach

B Major scale has the following notes:

B – C# – D# – E – F# – G# – A#

If we ‘lower’ the 2nd note (C#), 3rd note (D#), 5th note (F#), 6th note (G#) and 7th note (A#), we get the following:

B – C – D – E – F – G – A

B Locrian Mode Using The Derivative Approach

B is the 7th note of the C Major scale:

C – D – E – F – G – A – B

If we play the C Major scale and start on the 7th note we get the following:

B – C – D – E – F – G – A

Let’s look at the B locrian mode in the different positions on the guitar fretboard:

B Locrian in the Open Position

Firstly, let’s look at the open position:

B Locrian Mode Open Position Frets
B Locrian Mode Open Position Notes

B Locrian Mode CAGED Positions

Now let’s look at B locrian in the 5 different CAGED positions along the fretboard.

B Locrian in the 1st Position (Lowest Fret is 1)

B Locrian Mode Open Position Frets
B Locrian Mode 1st Position Notes

B Locrian in the 4th Position (Lowest Fret is 4)

B Locrian Mode 4th Position Frets

B Locrian in the 7th Position (Lowest Fret is 7)

B Locrian Mode 7th Position Frets
B Locrian Mode 7th Position Notes

B Locrian in the 8th Position (Lowest Fret is 8)

B Locrian Mode 8th Position Frets
B Locrian Mode 8th Position Notes

B Locrian in the 12th Position (Lowest Fret is 12)

B Locrian Mode 12th Position Frets
B Locrian Mode 12th Position Notes

That covers the 5 basic positions and the open position of C# locrian along the guitar fretboard. For an in depth explanation of the locrian mode, check out locrian mode explained.

Further Reading

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