STRINGSCALES

C♯ phrygian Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D, E at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12

A string: A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12

D string: D, E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12

G string: G#, A, B, C#, D, E, F# at frets 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11

B string: B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A, B at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12

High E string: E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D, E at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12

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C# phrygian

The phrygian mode is minor with a flat 2nd, the third mode of the major scale. That half step above the root gives it a dark Spanish and Middle Eastern color: flamenco resolves onto it constantly, and metal riffs on the flat 2nd for menace. Try vamping between the root chord and the chord a half step up to hear its signature cadence.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

C♯

i

C♯m
D

bII

Dmaj
E

bIII

Emaj
F♯

iv

F♯m
G♯

v°

G♯dim
A

bVI

Amaj
B

bvii

Bm

Characteristic note: D (b2), the dark half step above the root that defines the phrygian sound.

Same notes, different mode

C# phrygian 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.

D lydianE mixolydianF# minor · relative minorG# locrianA major · relative majorB dorian

phrygian in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • The flat 2nd (D) is the identity: open and close phrases with the bII (D) to root half step.
  • Vamp the root chord against the major chord a half step up (built on bII (D)); that two-chord move is instant flamenco in C#.
  • For metal riffing in C# phrygian, chug the open root and punctuate with the bII (D) and flat 6th (A) for maximum darkness.
  • If the backing has a major 3rd, shift to C# phrygian dominant; keep everything else and only the 3rd changes.

How to play C♯ phrygian on guitar

Five open strings sit in this key, but none of them is the root or the fifth, so an open drone will not hold underneath. Capo at fret 1 and the fingering becomes C phrygian, which lets a player borrow shapes already learned in the flat key. Root nearest the nut is B string fret 2. Both outer strings take a root at fret 9, so upper-neck position work has an anchor at each end of the set.

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