Scales
Bb Phrygian Dominant Scale
Bb · Cb · D · Eb · F · Gb · Ab
The fifth mode of harmonic minor — a major third over a flattened second, and the sound of flamenco.
Also called Bb Spanish · Bb Phrygian major
Bb Phrygian Dominant Scale
Bb · Cb · D · 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 · D · Eb · F · Gb · Ab · Bb | |
| Left hand | 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 | Bb · Cb · D · 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 Dominant is made of the notes Bb · Cb · D · Eb · F · Gb · Ab. Each is a degree counted from the tonic, and the gaps between them are the step pattern H W½ H W H W W.
Read on: scale degrees · building any scale
Chords in this key
Stacking thirds on each degree of Bb Phrygian Dominant gives the chords of the key; the roman numeral names the degree each is built on.
Triads
Related scales
The scales Bb Phrygian Dominant 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.
Scales inside it
Bb Mixolydian PentatonicBb · D · Eb · F · Ab
Every note of this scale is in Bb Phrygian Dominant.
Bb KumoijoshiBb · Cb · Eb · F · Gb
Every note of this scale is in Bb Phrygian Dominant.
Bb In-senBb · Cb · Eb · F · Ab
Every note of this scale is in Bb Phrygian Dominant.
Scales that contain it
Bb Spanish HeptatonicBb · Cb · Db · D · Eb · F · Gb · Ab
Contains every note of Bb Phrygian Dominant.
Bb ChromaticBb · Cb · C · Db · D · Eb · Fb · F · Gb · G · Ab · A
Contains every note of Bb Phrygian Dominant.
Understanding Bb Phrygian Dominant
Names and spellings
Bb Phrygian Dominant is also called Bb Spanish, Bb Phrygian major; every one of those names means exactly these notes.
Phrygian dominant, Phrygian major and the Spanish scale name the same scale: the fifth mode of the harmonic minor, with a major third over a Phrygian ♭2.
How it is built
On Bb the scale is Bb · Cb · D · Eb · F · Gb · Ab, following the step pattern H W½ H W H W W. It is phrygian with a raised third, which puts an augmented second between the second and third degrees.
That gap is inherited from the harmonic minor it is a mode of, and it is the interval that makes the scale sound the way it does.
How it is used
It is the scale of the Andalusian cadence and of flamenco harmony generally, and it is equally idiomatic in klezmer, in Middle Eastern music and in metal.
In jazz it works over a 7♭9 chord, whose flattened ninth it supplies directly.
Learn this properly
Chapter 14: Chromatic HarmonyCommon questions
- What notes are in Bb Phrygian Dominant?
- Bb Phrygian Dominant contains Bb · Cb · D · Eb · F · Gb · Ab. Find every scale that contains these notes with the scale finder.
- What scale is phrygian dominant a mode of?
- The harmonic minor, starting from its fifth degree.
- What chord does phrygian dominant fit over?
- A dominant seventh with a flattened ninth — 7♭9.
- How do I play Bb Phrygian Dominant?
- 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 Dominant?
- Stacking thirds on each degree of Bb Phrygian Dominant gives Bb (I), CbM (II), Ddim (iii°), Ebm (iv), Fdim (v°), Gbaug (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.