How to use the locrian mode to make chords and progressions
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ก.ค. 2024
- FREE Major Key Chord Guide : majorkeychords.com
Watch this to learn how to use the locrian mode to make chords and progressions.
The Locrian Mode is one of 7 Modes of the major scale. The notes of the Locrian Mode can be used to create 7 different triads.
This video will show you how to construct these Locrian Mode chords and then use them in a variety of chord progressions.
Your songwriting will thank you for having this explained to you!
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Modes Explained: • What are modes?
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Timestamps:
0:00 - The Locrian Mode Explained (Chords & Progressions Guide)
0:10 - What Are The Scale Degrees Of The Major Scale / Locrian Mode / Phrygian Mode? (+ Sound Examples)
1:19 - The Perfect 5th Interval & Diminished 5th Interval (Importance In Locrian)
2:01 - How To Construct Locrian Mode Chords / What Chords Are In The C Locrian Key?
3:20 - The Difficulties Of The Locrian Mode + Common Locrian Mode Chord Progressions
6:50 - How To Use Different Chord Types In Locrian Mode Chord Progressions (Including 7th Chords!)
#Locrianmode #musictheory #writeasong
All 7 Major Scale Modes Explained th-cam.com/video/C93lMKsE1f8/w-d-xo.html
Here is a progression in C locrian I find : Cdim(4measure) Gb/Db(4measure) Dbsus4(4 measure) Ebm(2measure) Ebminor6th/Db(2measure) . The Dbsus4 makes no resolution and sus 4 is b5 in the key, Gb is b5 chord and Eb minor (is like tonic chord without tonic note) and Ebminor6th(same notes as Cm7b5) kinda sounds like Cm7b5 (tonic) then leads to C diminished nicely because of the common tones.
Interesting progression, thanks for sharing!
I am going to try this. Looks interesting.
I wrote a song in Locrian with the chords E0 F Dm E0. It sounds pretty good. Composing in Locrian mode is like learning a language with OVS order, like Klingon. At first it is strange, but then you will get used to it.
"Don't even bother fooling around with it extensively." - My theory prof. Soooo, I've spent years doing exactly that. I've found that the i-dim works better if I put some distance between the root and the other notes in the chord. I've also found that keeping it simple, as in a classic rock progression is the best place to start. Also, if you build a pentatonic scale by removing the second and sixth you have a blues scale with a flat five, avoiding the perfect fifth interval. This is great for soloing over the mode. And one more thing: Since this is such a rare mode to be heard in recorded music, I avoid playing the full i-dim until establishing a piece with the other chords. For example if a piece is heard to have a iii-min (7th), a v-min (7th), and and a bV(maj7) with the root a tritone away . . . THEN the i-dim makes perfect sense to the listener. It doesn't have the need to resolve; you feel like you are "back home", only "home" feels quite like a nightmare you can't escape. (Bwahaha!) Thanks for the best explanation I could ever give to any of my own students. 💯
Interesting ideas for approaching the mode, thanks for sharing. I think "a nightmare you can't escape" is very fitting for Locrian!
“Uncertain, the dissonance is … The 7 chords cloud/soften everything …” ~ Yoda
Merci for this. Great simple explanations.
You are welcome!
clear as hell💯 best explanation I've heard yet 🔥🔥
Thanks!
People make locrian out to be scarier than it actually is. Context matters. Yes, locrian is very unstable regardless. But if I use that diminished I chord followed by the II, V or VI, I will be playing just 1 tritone followed by bunch of major chords. And using the V chord of locrian relates lydian, the brightest of all modes. If you then follow by VI, you will have tapped part of the lydian vamp.
I've been waiting for this one
Enjoy!
Your mode videos are so helpful! I was actually able to use the Locrian mode a few days before this video was uploaded by following the formula you've employed in your other videos: figure out the available chords, then determine what sets Locrian apart from Aeolian and Phrygian, and use that to find the chords that are the "most Locrian". Then make sure to use those chords to firmly establish the mode.
I ended up using this progression: C Cm7♭5 E♭m G♭7 D♭7 C. I wanted my song to be mostly in C Ionian but with a little bit of dissonance to give the listener the sense that something is off, so I switched to C Locrian for a few measures. I haven't finished the song yet, but your channel was definitely a big help. Thank you!
Thanks for the comment and thank you for watching the videos!
It's so great to hear that they've helped your songwriting. I hope you continue to gain inspiration from the channel.
Super informative video! But I have a question - at 7:50, isn’t this a GbM6 chord (not 7)?
Thanks Sally. If we're staying strictly in the key of C Locrian, the V chord can be played both as Gb maj7 & Gb maj6. Neither chord introduces a note from outside of the C Locrian scale. Hope that answers your question!
Thanks!
Thanks for the Super Thanks! I really appreciate the support
@@WriteASong thank you for the great content
I wrote a song in locrian using a Sus4b6 as the root chord. Still doesn't resolve well but better than the diminished.
What do you mean by sus 4 b6 is that a chord with C F Ab notes (It's F minor btw the 4th chord in locrian and 3 chord in major scale)
@@ahmeterenosun8572Yea, those are the exact notes I am using even. It is a Root, fourth and flat sixth. Then I bring it down to a minor third using a pedal tone but maintain that sixth. Still sounds awkward but that is the desired effect I am going for.
@@GrimScarFayn that's just an Fmin chord in second inversion which is the 4th chord in C locrian. It doesn't resolve well because iv has no tonic function, it has subdominant function and is actually less stable than i°
Edit: You cannot build a sus4 chord on locrian's tonic while staying in key as a perfect 5th is required but it is diminished. You would need modal interchange which really doesn't work on the tonic.
A sus4(addb6) would be C, F, G, and Ab.
@@TheDeadOfNight37 Yes, I seem to have named it wrong by calling it a Sus4, which would imply a fifth. You are correct. Could one call it a Sus4#5th then? Which ever you call it, I disagree that it is less stable than a diminished root. I have never heard of anyone tying to apply Harmonic Function to Locrian. I have heard on a few occasions that it simply does not apply at all as one can not truly resolve Locrian. Most would prefer to "resolve" it with a half diminished if ever used.
But if you use that diminished I followed by iii, vii and iv, it is 1 dimished chord followed by all minor chords. That is dark. But I would still say unstable. If you want true tragic sounds, play your aeolian mode with i chord followed by the minor version of bVI. The Imperial March by John Williams from Star Wars uses that. It's sincerely horrific. And honestly, locrian can sound just fun if you listen to Bodies by Drowning Pool or STFU by Rina Sawayama.
dim5b7 chords can also help round out some of the edges
In the jazz world, those are commonly referred to as min7b5 chords. For example, the 1 chord in C Locrian would be called Cmin7b5 (C minor seven, flat five). They're known as 'half diminished seventh chords' in the classical world. If you break that chord up into intervals, going in ascending order, you have a minor 3rd (C to Eb), another minor third (Eb to Gb), with a major third on top (Gb to Bb). There are two triads within the Cmin7b5. The first triad is diminished (C/Eb/Gb), with the second triad being minor (Eb/Gb/Bb). The resting Bb on the top of the triad, greatly softens the diminished triad below. Of course, you can complicate things by doing inversions, which then gets into 'voice leading' between chords.
Big thanks to our jazz overlords!
Heavy rock sound
What software is used to create the lead sheets for the music examples?
It's called Hookpad. I made a video about it here: th-cam.com/video/YwQxYsVpOq4/w-d-xo.html
@@WriteASong Thank you.
Whoa! Tension yeah that’s for sure, but also strong vibes of angst, loss and longing. Just saying.
Yes definitely a unique mode!
Though it can also be used in another way that I found out about when listening to a locrian arrangement of the third movement of Moonlight Sonata. When described, it felt chaotic primarily with both happy and sad.
what note defines aeolian ? is it the minor 6 or the minor third . im assuming its the minor 2nd in phrygian so then minor 3rd should be the defining note by that logic . is my assumption correct
Yes you are correct in your assumption.
@@WriteASong thanks for the help
Isn’t it both, really? The b3 distinguishes Aeolian from all of the Major Modes, but the b6 is ‘necessary’ to distinguish Aeolian from Dorian … ? In order of importance/the number of Modes it distinguishes from, I guess you might rank them as the b3 being the Primary Characteristic note, and the b6 being a Secondary Characteristic note … ? Likewise, the b7 acts as a Secondary Characteristic note, vis-a-viz the Harmonic Minor scale? Fair to say, or not? 🤔🤷🏻♂️
please do modes of the harmonic minor
It is on my to-do list!
if you really want to write spooky music, just use tritone substitutions
thinking about modes is how bad composers make themselves feel like they aren't bad composers
my number one tip is to forget about modes because they are mostly pointless for most applications
… Says the guy with a Petersen profile picture … how apt … ☺️
This version of Roman Numeral analysis is bad in my opinion.
i⁰ bII biii iv bV bVI bvii and comparing to Ionian is superior. It actually gives you insight into how to build the scale. and what the notes would and chords are, not just chord quality.
If you tell someone oh yeah C Locrian, assuming they have no knowledge outside of major (Ionian) only, has the chords
i⁰ II iii iv V VI vii, it is misleading.
Just my opinion.
That's fair enough, many people agree with you.
Yes, I agree … using the Major Scale as a firm touchstone makes everything else clearer, I find/feel.