Locrian Mode

Root Scale	Major Scale
Mode	VII
Origin	Greece

Description

The Locrian Mode is said to have a sinister, unsettling, haunting quality and is commonly used in jazz, heavy metal, death metal, klezmer, and fusion jazz styles of music.

This mode is also called:

Minor scale with the 2nd and 5th intervals lowered by a semi-tone
Mixolydian mode
Jewish Minor Scale

Then Locrian Mode is the seventh mode of the first authentic scale of ancient Greece and was named after the Locrians a barbaric tribe of ancient Greece. The Locrians split into two tribes who maintained separate cultures and traditions. The eastern Locrian tribe was called the Epicnemidii, and the more civilized western tribe was called the Ozoli.

The Locrian mode was mainly of theoretical importance and not used very widely until recently due to its unsettling and dissonant sound. The unsettling quality of the Locrian Mode has made it useful in Jazz, Heavy Metal, and Death Metal music.

Songs That Use This Scale

Sad But True by Metallica

YYZ by Rush

Painkiller by Judas Priest