Bb Locrian ♮2 Scale

What is the Bb Locrian ♮2 Scale?

Locrian ♮2 is the sixth mode of the melodic minor scale, and it solves a practical problem: standard Locrian's ♭2 clashes badly with the root over half-diminished chords, but this version keeps a natural 2nd. It's the preferred scale choice for m7♭5 chords in modern jazz, giving you all the darkness of Locrian without the harshest dissonance. Here's how the Bb Locrian ♮2 Scale lays out on the fretboard. This scale is enharmonically equivalent to A# Locrian ♮2.

Notes and Positions

Locrian with a natural 2nd; 6th mode of melodic minor. Used over half-diminished chords in jazz. On bass, the fretboard view helps you visualize where the important tones sit for building lines across positions. Use a finger-per-fret approach first, then add shifts only when the line needs a wider range. In the key of Bb, the notes are: Bb, C, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab.

How to Use It

You'll often hear it in Jazz, Fusion, and Half-diminished chords. A good way to internalize the sound is to sing the root, then sing a few scale degrees before you play them.

Practice root-on-E and root-on-A boxes separately, then connect them with one clean position shift. Use the interactive fretboard above to spot repeats of the same note on different strings and frets.