Phrygian Dominant vs Phrygian

Phrygian dominant vs Phrygian: the one note that changes

E Phrygian is E F G A B C D, the notes of C major played from E. E Phrygian dominant is E F G# A B C D. Six notes are shared; only the 3rd moves, from the minor 3rd G to the major 3rd G#.

As formulas, Phrygian is 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 and Phrygian dominant is 1 b2 3 4 5 b6 b7. Raising that one note does two things: the home chord turns from E minor into E major, and a gap of three half steps, an augmented second, opens between F and G#. That gap is the sound many players call Spanish, Arabic or klezmer.

E Phrygian and E Phrygian dominant, note by note: the changed degree is marked

Degree	E Phrygian	E Phrygian dominant
1	E (1)	E (1)
2	F (b2)	F (b2)
3	G (b3)	G# (3)
4	A (4)	A (4)
5	B (5)	B (5)
6	C (b6)	C (b6)
7	D (b7)	D (b7)

How Phrygian and Phrygian dominant sound

Play the two scales one after the other in the same key and listen for the 3rd. Choose a key and the scale to compare with: the notes in crimson are the ones the other scale does not have.

Phrygian sounds dark and minor from its first notes. Phrygian dominant keeps the same dark flat 2nd, but its major 3rd makes the root sound like a dominant chord that wants to move, which is why it is played so often over E7 going to Am.

Phrygian vs Phrygian dominant chords

Stacking thirds inside each scale gives seven chords. Changing one note changes the three chords that contain it: in E, Em becomes E, G becomes G#dim and C becomes C+. F, Am, Bdim and Dm are the same in both scales.

With seventh chords the home chord is Em7 in Phrygian and E7 in Phrygian dominant, and that dominant 7th on the root is the clearest way to tell the two apart by ear. The seven chords of the mode, with chord boxes in every key, are on the Phrygian dominant chords on guitar page.

Phrygian and Phrygian dominant on guitar in E

In open position the two scales differ in three places. Phrygian plays the open G string and the 3rd fret of both E strings; Phrygian dominant moves each of them up one fret, to G# on the 1st fret of the G string and the 4th fret of both E strings.

Practise them back to back: play E Phrygian up and down, then the same shape with G# in place of G. The rest of the fingering stays, so the ear hears only the change of the 3rd. The scale in every key and the five neck regions are on the Phrygian dominant scale on guitar page.

When to use Phrygian or Phrygian dominant

Follow the chord on the root. Over E minor or Em7, play E Phrygian: its G matches the chord. Over E major or E7, play E Phrygian dominant: its G# is the 3rd of the chord, and G would clash with it. In A minor the same E7 is the V7 chord, so Phrygian dominant is the scale of that chord.

Flamenco guitar mixes Phrygian and Phrygian dominant

Flamenco works with a mode in which the melody can use both G and G# over E: the flamenco mode, or modo de Mi. The accompaniment often keeps G natural while the melody leans on G#, and that clash is part of the style. So flamenco is neither plain Phrygian nor plain Phrygian dominant: it moves between the two.

Phrygian dominant vs harmonic minor

Phrygian dominant is the 5th mode of the harmonic minor scale. E Phrygian dominant uses exactly the notes of A harmonic minor, A B C D E F G#, starting from E. The difference is the home note: harmonic minor rests on A minor, Phrygian dominant on E major.

E Phrygian dominant and the scales it is compared with: formula, notes and home chord

Scale	Formula	Notes	Home chord
E Phrygian dominant	1 b2 3 4 5 b6 b7	E F G# A B C D	E
E Phrygian	1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7	E F G A B C D	Em
A harmonic minor	1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7	A B C D E F G#	Am
E double harmonic major	1 b2 3 4 5 b6 7	E F G# A B C D#

That is why the two names are often mixed up in a minor key. Over the E7 chord of A minor the notes are the same: if the music rests on Am you are playing harmonic minor, and if it rests on E you are in Phrygian dominant.

Phrygian dominant vs double harmonic major

Double harmonic major, also called the Byzantine scale, is 1 b2 3 4 5 b6 7. It shares the first six notes of Phrygian dominant and differs only in the 7th: D# in place of D in E. With the major 7th the scale has two augmented seconds, F to G# and C to D#.

Many sources call Phrygian dominant "double harmonic" by mistake, and the name double harmonic is also given to a minor scale, the Hungarian minor. When a lesson names one of these scales, check the formula: b7 means Phrygian dominant, 7 means double harmonic major.