Scales › Phrygian

Phrygian scale

dark minor, Spanish b9

What color?

A very dark minor marked by the b9 and b13, giving it an Iberian, tense color right from the second note. You go for it when you want a low, closed minor, or to evoke an austere flamenco/modal character.

Origin & history

The third mode of medieval plainchant, marked by its minor second from the very second note. A dark, Iberian color: it is the "mi mode" of flamenco, and a major expressive device in metal for its menacing character.

Listen

• "Symphony of Destruction" — Megadeth

Which chords to play it on?

The jazz consensus (Aebersold) recommends it on:

Sibling modes

The Phrygian scale is one of the modes of the major scale : it shares exactly the same notes as the modes below, but built on a different degree of the parent scale (major (Ionian)).

Try it in a real chart

Paste a chord chart into the tool: Pentania tells you, chord by chord, when this scale fits — and what other colors are open to you. Open the tool →