ArpeggiosEN

Scale quality

phrygian

Phrygian is the third degree of the major scale, a minor scale whose second degree is flattened. That flat second is one half-step above the root and creates the most immediate tension in the scale, which is why phrygian sounds Spanish, flamenco and Middle Eastern rather than merely sad. The rest of the scale is close to natural minor, so the character lives almost entirely in that one note. Metal, film music and flamenco guitar all lean on it, and it is the scale of the m7 chord when the bass insists on the flat second. Listen for the flat second rubbing against the root.

Formula
1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7
Notes
C♯ D E F♯ G♯ A B
Family
Major scale modes

Notation in C♯

representative key
441♭2♭345♭6♭71

Fretboard — frets 0–12

C♯ phrygian — frets 0 to 12, 47 notes, roots in orange♭345♭6♭71♭2♭3♭71♭2♭345♭6♭75♭6♭71♭2♭34♭2♭345♭6♭71♭2♭6♭71♭2♭345♭6♭345♭6♭71♭2♭30123456789101112
C♯ phrygian — frets 0 to 12, 47 notes, roots in orange♭345♭6♭71♭2♭3♭71♭2♭345♭6♭75♭6♭71♭2♭34♭2♭345♭6♭71♭2♭6♭71♭2♭345♭6♭345♭6♭71♭2♭30123456789101112

All 17 keys

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Same family

How to practise this scale

  • Play the flat second against the root and hold the tension.
  • Improvise a flamenco-style phrase that keeps returning to the flat second.
  • Compare it with aeolian and hear what the lowered second adds.
  • Play the scale over a minor chord and let the flat second bite.