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D Locrian Mode
The D Locrian mode uses the notes of E-flat major, starting on D: D, E-flat, F, G, A-flat, B-flat, and C. Let’s look at it on the keyboard and on the staff, with fingering for both hands, and hear what sets it apart from D natural minor.
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D Locrian mode overview
Visualize the D Locrian mode on the piano
On the keyboard, D Locrian uses D, E-flat, F, G, A-flat, B-flat, and C, with E-flat, A-flat, and B-flat on black keys, and D again at the top. These seven notes are the E-flat major scale, started on its 7th note. The notes are shared, but the home note is D, and that changes how the scale sounds.
What gives D Locrian its sound
Compared with the D natural minor scale, two notes change: the 2nd is E-flat instead of E, and the 5th is A-flat instead of A. Without a perfect 5th above the tonic, the chord on the tonic is diminished, and the scale never quite settles. That’s why Locrian is mostly studied rather than used as the home of a piece, but hearing it is part of understanding how the other modes work.
The chord built on D from the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes is D diminished (D, F, and A-flat). Playing it before and after the scale helps keep D in the ear as the center, rather than E-flat.
Play D Locrian on the piano
The two charts show the fingering one hand at a time. Each hand covers the seven notes in two positions, a group of three fingers (red) and a group of four (blue); a note in green is an extra note at the end of the scale, outside the two positions.
The right hand starts on D with the thumb. Going up, the thumb passes under to G after the 3rd finger on F. The top D is played with the 5th finger. This is the same fingering as C major (1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5), which fits here because every note the thumb plays is a white key.
The left hand starts on D with the 4th finger. Going up, the 4th finger folds over the thumb from G to A-flat. The top D is played with the thumb. This is the fingering of the E-flat major scale on the same notes: the thumb plays the same keys it plays in E-flat major, so it never lands on a black key.
The notes of D Locrian on the staff
On the staff, the eight notes climb by step from D to D, the right hand in the treble clef and the left hand an octave lower in the bass clef. D Locrian is written with the key signature of E-flat major: three flats (B-flat, E-flat, and A-flat). The key signature belongs to E-flat major, but here the line begins and ends on D, and that’s what makes it D Locrian.
Play D Locrian up and down one octave
Next, D Locrian as we’ll practice it: up one octave and back down, one note per beat, ending on a half note. The fingering for the right hand is written above the notes and for the left hand below.
Practice D Locrian
The fingering is not the difficult part here, since it follows a scale we already know. What tends to go wrong is the ear: the notes of D Locrian are familiar from E-flat major, and the scale easily slips back toward E-flat. Let’s work on it in a few stages.
- Find the home note first: Before the scale, we play the D diminished chord and let it ring, then play the scale and end on the same chord. The aim is to keep D as the center the whole way through.
- Compare with D natural minor: We play the D natural minor scale and then D Locrian, slowly, listening for E-flat and A-flat where D natural minor has E and A. Those two changes are the whole difference in sound, and hearing it is more useful than any rule about the mode.
- Hands separately, then together: Each hand alone first, slowly and evenly, with special attention to the thumb passing under to G in the right hand. Then hands together, an octave apart, keeping the pulse even.
- Shape the line: Once it’s steady, we let the scale grow a little toward the top and relax on the way down. It turns the scale into a phrase and keeps the ear involved.
Avoid common mistakes in D Locrian
A few things tend to go wrong in D Locrian:
- Hearing E-flat as home: Because the notes are those of E-flat major, the ear tends to treat E-flat as the center and D as a passing note. Starting and ending firmly on D, and playing the D diminished chord around the scale, keeps the mode’s own center clear.
- Falling back to D natural minor: Out of habit, the hand often plays E and A instead of E-flat and A-flat. Slowing down at that point and naming the note before playing it usually fixes it within a few repetitions.
- Uneven thumb notes: The thumb plays on its side and tends to land heavily, especially right after passing under. Letting the thumb travel early and arrive lightly keeps the line even.
Other techniques related to D Locrian:
- The E-flat major scale (the same notes, starting on E-flat)
- The D natural minor scale (the same starting note)
- The Locrian mode on every note
- The Complete Guide to Piano Modes