STRINGSCALES

E♭ phrygian Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, Fb at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12

A string: Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab at frets 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11

D string: Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db at frets 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11

G string: Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb at frets 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11

B string: Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12

High E string: Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, Fb at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12

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Eb 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:

E♭

i

E♭m
F♭

bII

F♭maj
G♭

bIII

G♭maj
A♭

iv

A♭m
B♭

v°

B♭dim
C♭

bVI

C♭maj
D♭

bvii

D♭m

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

Same notes, different mode

Eb 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.

Fb lydianGb mixolydianAb minor · relative minorBb locrianCb major · relative majorDb dorian

phrygian in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

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

How to play E♭ phrygian on guitar

Seven flats put every degree on an altered spelling, so the open low E reads as Fb in this key. Three open strings fall in the set, none of them the root or the fifth, which means a ringing pedal is unavailable. Capo at fret 1 rewrites the grip as D phrygian. Root nearest the nut is D string fret 1. Low E does not reach a root until fret 11, so box work here starts high on the neck.

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