Phrygian Dominant Scale on Guitar

How to play the Phrygian dominant scale on guitar

The Phrygian dominant scale (1 b2 3 4 5 b6 b7) sits naturally on the guitar. In E, its notes are E F G# A B C D, and five of the six open strings belong to it, so you can play it in the first position without a single barre.

Start with the open position in E, then the same idea in A, then the whole neck. Keep the root in your ear: play the low E string between phrases and let each note of the scale sound against it.

E Phrygian dominant in open position

With the root on the open 6th string, every open string except G is part of the scale. The open G is replaced by G# on the 1st fret of the 3rd string, and that G# is the major third that gives the scale its bright side.

6th string (E): E open, F 1, G# 4
5th string (A): A open, B 2, C 3
4th string (D): D open, E 2, F 3
3rd string (G): G# 1, A 2, B 4
2nd string (B): B open, C 1, D 3
1st string (E): E open, F 1, G# 4

A Phrygian dominant in open position

In A the notes are A Bb C# D E F G. The open E, A, D and G strings belong to the scale; the open B does not, because the scale has Bb. The root moves to the open 5th string.

6th string (E): E open, F 1, G 3
5th string (A): A open, Bb 1, C# 4
4th string (D): D open, E 2, F 3
3rd string (G): G open, A 2, Bb 3
2nd string (B): C# 2, D 3
1st string (E): E open, F 1, G 3

Phrygian dominant on the guitar fretboard

The map below shows every note of E Phrygian dominant from the open strings to the 12th fret. From the 12th fret the whole pattern repeats one octave higher.

Find the roots first. In E they sit on the 6th and 1st strings open and at the 12th fret, on the 5th string at the 7th fret, on the 4th string at the 2nd fret, on the 3rd string at the 9th fret and on the 2nd string at the 5th fret. Every shape you learn is built around one of these roots.

Phrygian dominant neck regions at a glance

The fretboard at the top of this page splits the neck into five regions of five frets: 0 to 4, 3 to 7, 5 to 9, 7 to 11 and 9 to 13. Each region holds every note of the scale in one hand position, from the 6th string to the 1st, each note once. Some strings carry four notes: reach the extra one with a small stretch of the 1st or 4th finger instead of moving the hand.

Other systems divide the neck too: three notes per string gives seven even shapes for fast runs, with the same notes. The fixed regions give scales and chords one map: the chord player uses the same five regions, so a chord and its scale sit under the same hand. Every region in E and in all 12 keys, with its diagram, is on Phrygian dominant guitar positions.

Phrygian dominant guitar chords: the harmonic field in E

The Phrygian dominant harmonic field has seven chords, one on each degree of the scale. In E, the triads are E, F, G#dim, Am, Bdim, C+ and Dm, and the seventh chords are E7, Fmaj7, G#dim7, Am(maj7), Bm7b5, Cmaj7#5 and Dm7. Every shape below was checked note by note against the scale before it was drawn. To hear them and see them in all 12 keys, go to Phrygian dominant chords on guitar.

Phrygian dominant triads in E

I, E: the home chord, major, built on the root.
bII, F: a half step above the root; moving E to F and back is the most typical sound of the scale.
iii°, G#dim: G# B D, three notes of E7, so it pulls to the home chord in the same way.
iv, Am: the minor chord that E resolves to when the scale is used as the 5th mode of A harmonic minor.
v°, Bdim: B D F, a dark, unstable colour on the 5th degree.
bVI+, C+: C E G#, augmented, with the G# of the scale on top.
bvii, Dm: the minor chord a whole step below the root.

Phrygian dominant seventh chords in E

Adding a seventh to each triad gives E7, Fmaj7, G#dim7, Am(maj7), Bm7b5, Cmaj7#5 and Dm7. E7 is the chord the scale is most often played over. Am(maj7) and Cmaj7#5 keep the G# inside the chord, which is what makes them sound exotic. G#dim7 (G# B D F) holds every note of E7 except the root, plus the F, so it can stand in for E7 with a stronger pull.

Phrygian dominant cadences: E to F and Am G F E

Two moves carry most of the sound. Rock between E and F, the root chord and the chord a half step above. Then play the flamenco cadence Am G F E, where the G chord comes from the flamenco mode rather than from the scale itself. For a stronger pull back to E, replace E with E7, or play G#dim7 just before it.

Phrygian dominant in flamenco guitar: por arriba and por medio

Flamenco guitarists name the keys by position. Por arriba is the E position, with the root on the 6th string; soleá is usually played here. Por medio is the A position, with the root on the 5th string; bulerías is most often played here, and its simplest accompaniment is A and Bb.

Flamenco works with a mode in which the melody can use both G# and G natural over E. Phrygian dominant is one colour inside it, which is why the two ideas meet so often on the guitar.

Classical and flamenco guitar techniques for the Phrygian dominant

The scale comes alive with the right hand. These four techniques are the core of the guitar lessons that follow.

Picado: scale runs played with alternating index and middle fingers, each note clear and strong.
Rasgueado: strums made by flicking the fingers out across the strings, for the chords of the cadence.
Alzapuá: a thumb technique that mixes single notes and strums for bass melodies.
Campanella: notes placed on different strings so that they ring over each other, like bells.

Phrygian dominant guitar practice path

Follow these steps in order. Each one will become its own lesson on this site, with diagrams, tab and audio.

1. Open position in E, slowly, against the low E string.
2. The same in A, against the open A string.
3. The scale on one string, from the open string to the 12th fret.
4. The roots across the neck, then one shape around each root.
5. The chords E, F, Am and Dm, and the cadence Am G F E.
6. Picado runs and short phrases that end on the root.