F Locrian Guitar Scale — Drop B
Guitar scale in Drop B tuning — fretboard diagram
F Locrian in Drop B — Notes and Intervals
The F Locrian scale is the seventh and most unstable mode of the major scale. On Guitar, the notes are F, Gb, Ab, Bb, B, Db, Eb. 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 F Locrian are Fm7b5, GbMaj7, Abm7, Bbm7, BMaj7, Db7, Ebm7. 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: F, Gb, Ab, Bb, B, Db, Eb
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
Fm7♭5 — G♭Maj7 — A♭m7 — B♭m7 — BMaj7 — D♭7 — E♭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.
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
- F Locrian in Standard Tuning
- F Locrian in Drop D
- F Locrian in DADGAD
- F Locrian in Open G
- F Locrian in Baritone (B Standard)
- F Locrian in 7-string
- F Locrian in 8-string
- F Locrian in Drop C
- F Locrian in Open D
- F Locrian in Half Step Down
- F Locrian in Open E
- F Locrian in Open A
- F Locrian in Double Drop D
- F Locrian in Open C