STRINGSCALES

C phrygian dominant Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, Db, E at frets 0, 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12

A string: Bb, C, Db, E, F, G, Ab at frets 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11

D string: E, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, Db at frets 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11

G string: G, Ab, Bb, C, Db, E, F, G at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12

B string: C, Db, E, F, G, Ab, Bb at frets 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11

High E string: E, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, Db, E at frets 0, 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12

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C phrygian dominant

The phrygian dominant scale, the fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale, is phrygian with a major 3rd: flat 2nd, bright 3rd, and the augmented 2nd between them. It is the definitive flamenco and Middle Eastern guitar sound, and metal's favorite exotic mode. Over a dominant chord resolving to minor, or a static E-style vamp, it is unmistakable in one bar.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

C

I

Cmaj
D♭

bII

D♭maj
E

iii°

Edim
F

iv

Fm
G

v°

Gdim
A♭

bVI+

A♭aug
B♭

bvii

B♭m

Characteristic note: E (natural 3), the major third over a phrygian b2 that creates the Spanish sound.

Same notes, different mode

C phrygian dominant uses the same notes as the scales below. Start from a different note and you get a new mode built on the very same note set.

Db lydian #9E ultralocrianF harmonic minorG locrian 6Ab major augmentedBb dorian #4

phrygian dominant in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Hold the major 3rd (E) against the flat 2nd (Db): that augmented-2nd clash is the flamenco and klezmer sound; do not smooth it out.
  • Vamp C major to the major chord on bII (Db) and back; that two-chord Andalusian cadence is the scale's natural habitat.
  • Over a V7 chord resolving to minor, C phrygian dominant is the classic choice; land on the 3rd of the target minor chord.
  • For metal, palm-mute the root and accent bII (Db), III and bVI (Ab); the scale riffs itself.

How to play C phrygian dominant on guitar

Open G supplies the fifth and both E strings land on the third, so three open strings back this key without a fretted note. DbM is the bII, a half step above the tonic, which means the flat-two slide is a one-fret move. Closest root to the nut is the B string at the 1st fret, while fret 8 on the low E carries the lowest. Fm and Gdim take iv and v.

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