D# Locrian Guitar Scale — Drop B

Guitar scale in Drop B tuning — fretboard diagram

D# locrian scale — 6-string guitar fretboard diagramInteractive fretboard diagram showing the D# locrian scale on 6-string guitar with 22 frets. Notes: C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A, B.C#D#EF#G#ABC#D#EF#G#ABG#ABC#D#EF#G#ABC#D#EF#EF#G#ABC#D#EF#G#ABC#BC#D#EF#G#ABC#D#EF#G#AF#G#ABC#D#EF#G#ABC#D#EBC#D#EF#G#ABC#D#EF#G#A1357911121315171921

D# Locrian in Drop B — Notes and Intervals

The D# Locrian scale is the seventh and most unstable mode of the major scale. On Guitar, 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: Drop B (B-F#-B-E-G#-C#)

Diatonic Chords

D♯m7♭5 — EMaj7 — F♯m7 — G♯m7 — AMaj7 — B7 — C♯m7

About Drop B Tuning

Drop B tuning (B-F#-B-E-G#-C#) takes the guitar into territory traditionally reserved for 7-string instruments, delivering a subsonic heaviness that you can feel in your chest. This tuning has become essential in modern extreme metal, deathcore, and djent, where low-end clarity and rhythmic precision are paramount.

Drop B represents the practical limit of what a standard 6-string guitar can handle before tone quality degrades. With the right string gauge (12-60 or heavier) and proper setup, it delivers the crushing lows of a 7-string while keeping the familiar 6-string layout. Bands like Architects, Periphery (on some tracks), and Parkway Drive have used Drop B to create some of the heaviest riffs in modern metal.

DeathcoreDjentProgressive MetalExtreme MetalMetalcore

Notable artists: Architects, Parkway Drive, Whitechapel, Born of Osiris, Emmure

Best for: Extreme metal riffs, deathcore breakdowns, djent chugs, and any style demanding the lowest possible 6-string tuning

Explore This Scale in Other Tunings

← All Guitar scales in Drop B tuning