7-note scale · also called Phrygian mode

The Phrygian scale on guitar

A minor scale with a ♭2: dark, Spanish-tinged and heavy.

Formula

1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7

Step pattern

H – W – W – W – H – W – W

Sounds

dark, tense and Spanish-flavoured

Phrygian is the third mode of the major scale: the notes of C major from E to E give E Phrygian. Its formula is 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7.

The ♭2, a half step above the root, is what makes it sound dark and Spanish. Metal players love it for low-string riffs that crunch between the root and the ♭2.

If you raise its 3rd you get Phrygian dominant, the fifth mode of harmonic minor: the more “flamenco” of the two.

E Phrygian by scale degree

Here is E Phrygian across the neck, labelled by scale degree instead of note name. Because guitar shapes are movable, this same pattern works in every key: slide it so the red root lands on the note you want.

Phrygian scale in all 12 keys

Pick a key for its notes, chords and fretboard diagrams.

When to use it

Use the Phrygian scale over metal riffs, flamenco-flavoured passages, and vamps where the chord a half step above the root keeps returning.

Practice tip: Riff on the root and the ♭2 on your lowest string. That half-step grind is the Phrygian sound in two notes.