Scales
Bb Phrygian Scale
Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · F · Gb · Ab
The third mode — minor with a flattened second, and the darkest of the common modes.
Bb Phrygian Scale
Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · F · Gb · Ab
Fingering on the piano
| Hand | Fingering | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 | Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · F · Gb · Ab · Bb | |
| Left hand | 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 | Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · F · Gb · Ab · Bb |
One octave ascending; 1 is the thumb. A standard fingering, not the only one.
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Scale degrees
Bb Phrygian is made of the notes Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · F · Gb · Ab. Each is a degree counted from the tonic, and the gaps between them are the step pattern H W W W H W W.
Read on: scale degrees · building any scale
Chords in this key
Stacking thirds on each degree of Bb Phrygian gives the chords of the key; the roman numeral names the degree each is built on.
Related scales
The scales Bb Phrygian shares its notes with: the one it is a rotation of, the relative and parallel keys, the scales inside it and the ones that contain it.
Gb MajorGb · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · F
Parent scale: the major scale this is a rotation of
A# PhrygianA# · B · C# · D# · E# · F# · G#
The same sound, spelled from the enharmonic root
Scales inside it
Bb Vietnamese 1Bb · Db · Eb · F · Gb
Every note of this scale is in Bb Phrygian.
Bb PelogBb · Cb · Db · F · Gb
Every note of this scale is in Bb Phrygian.
Bb KumoijoshiBb · Cb · Eb · F · Gb
Every note of this scale is in Bb Phrygian.
Bb In-senBb · Cb · Eb · F · Ab
Every note of this scale is in Bb Phrygian.
Bb Malkos RagaBb · Db · Eb · Gb · Ab
Every note of this scale is in Bb Phrygian.
Bb Minor PentatonicBb · Db · Eb · F · Ab
Every note of this scale is in Bb Phrygian.
Scales that contain it
Bb Spanish HeptatonicBb · Cb · Db · D · Eb · F · Gb · Ab
Contains every note of Bb Phrygian.
Bb Bebop LocrianBb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · F · Gb · Ab
Contains every note of Bb Phrygian.
Bb ChromaticBb · Cb · C · Db · D · Eb · Fb · F · Gb · G · Ab · A
Contains every note of Bb Phrygian.
Understanding Bb Phrygian
Names and spellings
A mode is named by the note it starts on, not by the major scale it comes from: D Dorian uses the notes of C major, but its tonic is D and its chords are built from D. The same mode name on another tonic is a different scale with the same pattern.
Bb Phrygian and A# Phrygian are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. A# Phrygian
How it is built
On Bb the mode is Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · F · Gb · Ab, following the step pattern H W W W H W W. It is a natural minor with the second degree flattened, which puts a half step right at the bottom of the scale.
Starting with a half step is unusual and immediately audible: the scale sounds like it is leaning downward from its very first move.
How it is used
It is the sound of flamenco, of metal riffing, and of a great deal of film scoring that wants menace without dissonance. The ♭2 above the tonic is the whole effect.
Raise its third and you get the phrygian dominant, the fifth mode of harmonic minor, which keeps the flattened second and adds a major third over it.
Learn this properly
Chapter 9: ModesCommon questions
- What notes are in Bb Phrygian?
- Bb Phrygian contains Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · F · Gb · Ab. Find every scale that contains these notes with the scale finder.
- What makes phrygian sound Spanish?
- The flattened second degree. A half step immediately above the tonic is the interval flamenco harmony is built around.
- What is the difference between phrygian and phrygian dominant?
- The third. Phrygian is minor; phrygian dominant raises the third to major while keeping the ♭2.
- How do I play Bb Phrygian?
- On guitar start with the 1st position, played from the lowest string upward; the instrument panel on this page shows its frets and the positions further up the neck. On the piano the right hand ascends 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4, with 1 as the thumb. Every position plays when you press it.
- What chords are in the key of Bb Phrygian?
- Stacking thirds on each degree of Bb Phrygian gives Bbm (i), CbM (II), Db (III), Ebm (iv), Fdim (v°), Gb (VI), Abm (vii). These are the diatonic chords of the key, the ones a song in this key uses most; the harmony band on this page lists them with the seventh chords built the same way.