Locrian ♮2 scale in F#
Locrian ♮2 scale in F#: F#, G#, A, B, C, D and E, the degrees 1–2–b3–4–b5–b6–b7. 6th mode of the melodic minor: Locrian with a major 2nd, smoother, the preferred scale over m7(b5) in the minor ii–V.
Think of it as Locrian 'repaired': it is the 6th mode of the melodic minor, and the one difference from plain Locrian is the major 2nd, which removes the roughness of the step right above the tonic — the home note. It stays unstable, since the diminished 5th is still there, but it becomes easier to sing. In jazz it is the preferred scale over half-diminished chords, the m7(b5): in the minor ii–V, the typical cadence setup in minor keys, that smoother second usually works better than the diatonic Locrian one.
Example: F# – G# – A – B – C – D – EFormula: 1 – 2 – b3 – 4 – b5 – b6 – b7In the formula, the numbers are degrees — positions counted in the reference major scale; "b" lowers a half step and "#" raises one.
Family: Melodic (jazz) minor and its modes.
The jazz-minor modes are central to jazz and sophisticated harmony. The #2/b3/#5 spelling is functional: enharmonically some notes sound the same, but the notation marks the tension they represent.
Chords in the harmonic field
These are the seven chords born from this scale — one built on each of its notes. Put another way: the set of chords that sounds naturally "inside" the scale. See the harmonic field of every key →
The same scale on all four instruments
In the diagrams, each dot carries its scale degree — 1 is the tonic, highlighted.