Phrygian guitar scale
What is phrygian guitar scale?
Phrygian scale or mode is used a lot in flamenco and Spanish guitar music for playing solos or improvisation. It is the third mode of the major scale, meaning it has the same notes, although the sequence starts from the third note.
Therefore, the Phrygian mode consists of: root, minor second, minor third, perfect fourth, perfect fifth, minor sixth, minor seventh, and octave. Alternatively, it can be written as the pattern half, whole, whole, whole, half, whole, whole. If you are confused about this, please go here to understand what this means.
What chords can you use it with?
- Since it is the third mode of the major scale, it can be used with the major scale chords.
- For B phrygian it means: it is the third mode of the G major scale. The chords for that scale are: G major, A minor, B minor, C major, D major, E minor, and F#/Gb diminished.
backing track for impRovising on the B phrygian scale
What happens if you change the key?
- The sequence ill be still the same, but the notes will be different and the chords to use for improvisation. But it will remain still the 3rd mode of the major scale.
- If change the key to C, then the scale will become E phrygian. It means the starting note will be E and the chords to go with this scale will be: C major, D minor, E minor, F major, G major, A minor, and B diminished.