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The Phrygian Mode on Guitar

Dark, tense, Spanish/flamenco

At a Glance

Formula: 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7

Degree: III of the major scale — play a major scale starting from its 3rd note and you are playing Phrygian.

Character: Dark, tense, Spanish/flamenco

Heard in: Metal, flamenco, film scores

Examples: White Zombie riffs, flamenco progressions

Phrygian in All 12 Keys

Each page shows the full fretboard, the five CAGED shapes, the diatonic 7th chords and the pentatonic subset. The parent major scale is listed beside each key — that is the scale you are really playing, just starting somewhere else.

C PhrygianG♯ major C♯ PhrygianA major D PhrygianA♯ major D♯ PhrygianB major E PhrygianC major F PhrygianD♭ major F♯ PhrygianD major G PhrygianD♯ major G♯ PhrygianE major A PhrygianF major A♯ PhrygianF♯ major B PhrygianG major

The Other Six Modes

All seven modes share the same seven notes when they share a parent scale. What changes is which note feels like home.

IonianI DorianII LydianIV MixolydianV AeolianVI LocrianVII

Keep Going

How the modes workGUIDE The CAGED systemGUIDE Analyze a chord progressionTOOL Guitar Mode Finder for iPhoneAPP