Phrygian Dominant Scale

What is the Phrygian dominant scale?

The Phrygian dominant scale is a seven note scale built from the formula 1 b2 3 4 5 b6 b7. It takes the Phrygian mode and raises its third, so the scale starts with a major triad but keeps the flat second right above the root.

It is the 5th mode of the harmonic minor scale. Play A harmonic minor (A B C D E F G#) from its 5th note, E, and you get E Phrygian dominant: E F G# A B C D. That is why the scale fits so naturally over E7, the chord that leads back to A minor.

Its sound is the one most people call Spanish, Arabic or Jewish: bright from the major third, tense from the half step above the root, and exotic from the wide leap between the 2nd and 3rd notes.

Phrygian dominant formula, steps and intervals

Formula: 1 b2 3 4 5 b6 b7
Steps in tones: ½ - 1½ - ½ - 1 - ½ - 1 - 1 (half, augmented second, half, whole, half, whole, whole; often written H A H W H W W)
Semitones from the root: 0 1 4 5 7 8 10

Phrygian dominant intervals in E

1, root: E
b2, minor second: F
3, major third: G#
4, perfect fourth: A
5, perfect fifth: B
b6, minor sixth: C
b7, minor seventh: D

The augmented second, signature of the Phrygian dominant

Between the b2 and the 3 there is a step of one and a half tones (1½): F to G# in E. It is written as a second but sounds as wide as a minor third. This leap, right next to the root, is the main reason the scale sounds exotic to Western ears.

Phrygian dominant compared with related scales

Compared with the Phrygian mode, only the third changes. E Phrygian is E F G A B C D; E Phrygian dominant is E F G# A B C D. One note turns a minor sound into a major one.

Compared with harmonic minor, the notes are the same: E Phrygian dominant uses exactly the notes of A harmonic minor. What changes is the centre. Over an A minor chord you hear A harmonic minor; over an E or E7 chord you hear E Phrygian dominant.

A practical rule: if the chord under the melody is E or E7 and the melody leans on F, think Phrygian dominant. If the chord is A minor, think A harmonic minor. The full comparison, with both chord sets, the two scales on guitar and double harmonic major, is on Phrygian dominant vs Phrygian.

Other names: Spanish Phrygian, Hijaz, Freygish and more

The same seven notes appear in many musical cultures, so the scale has many names. Some describe exactly the same pitches; others describe a related mode with its own rules.

Phrygian major, Phrygian natural 3: Western theory
Spanish Phrygian, Spanish gypsy scale: popular guitar names
Mixolydian b9 b13, dominant b2 b6: jazz chord scale names
Hijaz (Hicaz): Arabic and Turkish maqam, as an approximation
Ahava Rabbah, Freygish: Jewish prayer mode and klezmer
Vakulabharanam, Basant Mukhari: Carnatic and Hindustani music

Is the flamenco mode the same as Phrygian dominant?

Not exactly. Flamenco works with a harmonic mode on E in which the melody can use both G# and G natural, and the clash between a sung G# and a G in the guitar is part of the style. The Andalusian cadence, Am G F E, even uses a G major chord, which is outside Phrygian dominant. Phrygian dominant is one colour inside the flamenco mode, not the whole of it.

Is maqam Hijaz the same as Phrygian dominant?

Close, but not the same. Maqam Hijaz begins with jins Hijaz, a four note group whose middle step is usually played a little smaller than on a piano, and above the 4th degree it continues with jins Nahawand or jins Rast. On a fretted guitar you play the equal-tempered version, which is the Phrygian dominant; bends and slides bring you closer to the real intonation.

Freygish and Ahava Rabbah: the Jewish Phrygian dominant

In Ashkenazi prayer the mode is called Ahava Rabbah, after the blessing sung before the Shema. In klezmer it is called Freygish, and about a quarter of the klezmer tunes collected by Moshe Beregovsky are in it. Its centre differs from Hijaz: Ahava Rabbah favours the 3rd degree, while Hijaz leans on the 4th.

How the Phrygian dominant scale sounds

Three things shape the sound. The major triad on the root (1 3 5) gives a stable, bright base. The b2 sits a half step above the root and tends to fall back to it, the most typical move of the scale. The b6 tends to fall to the 5th, which gives descending lines their weight.

Try it on any instrument: play an E in the bass, then F, then E again. That half step is the shortest way into the sound of the scale.

Phrygian dominant guitar basics in E and A

On the guitar the scale feels most at home in E and A. These are the two main keys of flamenco: por arriba, with the root on the 6th string, and por medio, with the root on the 5th string. The full guide, with fretboard diagrams and chord shapes, is Phrygian dominant scale on guitar.

E Phrygian dominant and the open strings

E Phrygian dominant is E F G# A B C D. The open strings E, A, D, B and high E all belong to the scale; only the open G does not, because the scale has G#. With the root on the open 6th string, the whole first position rings.

A Phrygian dominant and the open strings

A Phrygian dominant is A Bb C# D E F G. The open strings E, A, D and G belong to the scale; the open B does not, because the scale has Bb. Bulerías is most often played here, and its simplest accompaniment is just A and Bb.

How to start practising the Phrygian dominant on guitar

1. Play the scale on the low E string alone, from the open string up to the 12th fret, and say the degree of each note.
2. Play it slowly over an E drone and stop on each note to hear its colour against the root.
3. Loop the two chords E and F, then A and Bb, and improvise with the scale over them.

Where the Phrygian dominant scale is used

You hear it in flamenco (soleá por arriba in E, bulerías por medio in A), in klezmer and Jewish liturgy, in Arabic, Turkish and Persian music as an approximation of their own modes, in Indian classical music as Vakulabharanam and Basant Mukhari, and in jazz as the scale for a dominant chord in a minor key.

Many famous songs are said to use it, but several of those claims do not hold when the melody is checked note by note. Misirlou, for example, is usually described as using the double harmonic scale, with D# instead of D. On this site we only name examples we have verified.