B Locrian Pentatonic Guitar Scale

Guitar scale — fretboard diagramAdvanced

B locrian pentatonic scale — 6-string guitar fretboard diagramInteractive fretboard diagram showing the B locrian pentatonic scale on 6-string guitar with 22 frets. Notes: E, F, A, B, D.EFABDEFABDBDEFABDEFAABDEFABDEFDEFABDEFABABDEFABDEFEFABDEFABD1357911121315171921

What chords fit over B Locrian Pentatonic?

Open B Locrian Pentatonic Harmonizer

B Locrian Pentatonic Scale — Notes and Intervals

The B Locrian Pentatonic scale is an unstable and mysterious scale used to evoke tension and ambiguity. On Guitar, its notes are B, D, E, F, A. It is often found in experimental music and certain Indian Ragas, providing a dissonant, outside sound that is perfect for dark, avant-garde, or high-tension compositions. Commonly used in Jazz, Fusion, Experimental, Progressive. Notable players include John Scofield, Kurt Rosenwinkel. Use over m7b5 (half-diminished) chords. Essential for jazz solos over ii chords in minor ii-V-i progressions.

Notes: B, D, E, F, A

Intervals: 1P, 3m, 4P, 5d, 7m

Degrees: 1 b2 3 4 b5

Formula: WH-W-H-4-W

Number of notes: 5

Also known as: minor seven flat five pentatonic

Musical Character

DarkDissonantTenseMysterious

The darkest pentatonic — contains the b5 that defines the Locrian sound. Excellent for outlining m7b5 chords in jazz with minimal notes.

Genres & Notable Artists

Genres: Jazz, Fusion, Experimental, Progressive

Notable players: John Scofield, Kurt Rosenwinkel

How to Use the B Locrian Pentatonic Scale

Use over m7b5 (half-diminished) chords. Essential for jazz solos over ii chords in minor ii-V-i progressions.

Origin & Background

Jazz-derived pentatonic for navigating half-diminished chord changes with clarity.

How to Play B Locrian Pentatonic on Guitar

Place your index finger at fret 7 on the 6th (low E) to find your B root note. With only 5 notes, this scale fits comfortably in a two-notes-per-string pattern across all six strings. Focus on learning a single box shape first before connecting positions.

The B Locrian Pentatonic scale uses no sharps or flats, consisting entirely of natural notes. This scale does not follow a traditional major or minor key signature, so reading from sheet music may require accidentals.

Practice Routine

Begin by playing the B Locrian Pentatonic scale ascending and descending at 100 BPM using a metronome, one note per beat. Once comfortable, practice in thirds (B-E, D-F) to build intervallic familiarity. Spend 5 minutes daily on this pattern before increasing tempo by 10 BPM.

This scale works well over simple power chord progressions or a 12-bar blues in B. Try a B5 - F5 - A5 progression. This scale is especially effective in fusion contexts.

Guitar Tips

Use hybrid picking (pick + fingers) when playing the B Locrian Pentatonic scale on guitar to access wider intervals and string skips that a pick alone cannot handle efficiently. Aim for a dark quality in your phrasing to match the natural character of this scale.

Related Scales

Locrian Pentatonic is the Five-note Locrian subset. View B Locrian scale

The B Locrian Pentatonic scale contains 5 notes (B, D, E, F, A). Use the interactive fretboard above to explore this scale on Guitar with different tunings and fret ranges.

CAGED Positions & Patterns for B Locrian Pentatonic

The B Locrian Pentatonic scale can be played in 5 CAGED positions across the fretboard, each based on an open chord shape (C, A, G, E, D). As a 5-note pentatonic scale, 2-notes-per-string patterns are the most ergonomic way to traverse the fretboard. Use the pattern selector above to isolate each position.

Explore B Locrian Pentatonic Further

Explore B Locrian Pentatonic in Other Tunings

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