Scales
E Phrygian Scale
E · F · G · A · B · C · D
The third mode — minor with a flattened second, and the darkest of the common modes.
E Phrygian Scale
E · F · G · A · B · C · D
Fingering on the piano
| Hand | Fingering | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 | E · F · G · A · B · C · D · E | |
| Left hand | 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 | E · F · G · A · B · C · D · E |
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
E Phrygian is made of the notes E · F · G · A · B · C · D. 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 · the seven modes
Modes
A mode is the same set of notes started from another degree. Each card is one rotation of E Phrygian: choose it to re-order the degrees from its tonic and hear it, or open its own page. The seven modes of the major scale are the ones most players learn first.
Chords in this key
Stacking thirds on each degree of E Phrygian gives the chords of the key; the roman numeral names the degree each is built on.
Related scales
The scales E 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.
C MajorC · D · E · F · G · A · B
Parent scale: the major scale this is a rotation of
Scales inside it
E Vietnamese 1E · G · A · B · C
Every note of this scale is in E Phrygian.
E PelogE · F · G · B · C
Every note of this scale is in E Phrygian.
E KumoijoshiE · F · A · B · C
Every note of this scale is in E Phrygian.
E In-senE · F · A · B · D
Every note of this scale is in E Phrygian.
E Malkos RagaE · G · A · C · D
Every note of this scale is in E Phrygian.
E Minor PentatonicE · G · A · B · D
Every note of this scale is in E Phrygian.
Scales that contain it
E Spanish HeptatonicE · F · G · G# · A · B · C · D
Contains every note of E Phrygian.
E Bebop LocrianE · F · G · A · Bb · B · C · D
Contains every note of E Phrygian.
E ChromaticE · F · F# · G · G# · A · Bb · B · C · C# · D · D#
Contains every note of E Phrygian.
Understanding E 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.
How it is built
On E the mode is E · F · G · A · B · C · D, 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 E Phrygian?
- E Phrygian contains E · F · G · A · B · C · D. 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 E 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 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5, with 1 as the thumb. Every position plays when you press it.
- What chords are in the key of E Phrygian?
- Stacking thirds on each degree of E Phrygian gives Em (i), F (II), G (III), Am (iv), Bdim (v°), C (VI), Dm (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.