D# Locrian Cuatro Venezolano Scale
Cuatro Venezolano scale in Standard tuning — fretboard diagram
D# Locrian in Standard — Notes and Intervals
The D# Locrian scale is the seventh and most unstable mode of the major scale. On Cuatro Venezolano, the notes are D#, E, F#, G#, A, B, C#. It sounds highly dissonant and unresolved, as its home chord is a diminished triad. While rare as a primary key, it is a crucial technical tool for jazz musicians improvising over half-diminished chords in tension-heavy passages. The diatonic chords of D# Locrian are D#m7b5, EMaj7, F#m7, G#m7, AMaj7, B7, C#m7. Commonly used in Jazz, Metal, Experimental, Avant-Garde. Notable players include John Coltrane, Meshuggah, Dream Theater. Use over m7b5 (half-diminished) chords. Essential for jazz ii-V-i in minor keys where the ii chord is half-diminished.
Notes: D#, E, F#, G#, A, B, C#
Intervals: 1P, 2m, 3m, 4P, 5d, 6m, 7m
Degrees: 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
Formula: H-W-W-H-W-W-W
Number of notes: 7
Tuning: Standard (B-F#-D-A)
Diatonic Chords
D♯m7♭5 — EMaj7 — F♯m7 — G♯m7 — AMaj7 — B7 — C♯m7