Scales
Eb Phrygian Scale
Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db
The third mode — minor with a flattened second, and the darkest of the common modes.
Eb Phrygian Scale
Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db
Fingering on the piano
| Hand | Fingering | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 | Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb | |
| Left hand | 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 | Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb |
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
Eb Phrygian is made of the notes Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db. 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 Eb Phrygian gives the chords of the key; the roman numeral names the degree each is built on.
Triads
Related scales
The scales Eb 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.
D# PhrygianD# · E · F# · G# · A# · B · C#
The same sound, spelled from the enharmonic root
Scales inside it
Eb Vietnamese 1Eb · Gb · Ab · Bb · Cb
Every note of this scale is in Eb Phrygian.
Eb PelogEb · Fb · Gb · Bb · Cb
Every note of this scale is in Eb Phrygian.
Eb KumoijoshiEb · Fb · Ab · Bb · Cb
Every note of this scale is in Eb Phrygian.
Eb In-senEb · Fb · Ab · Bb · Db
Every note of this scale is in Eb Phrygian.
Eb Malkos RagaEb · Gb · Ab · Cb · Db
Every note of this scale is in Eb Phrygian.
Eb Minor PentatonicEb · Gb · Ab · Bb · Db
Every note of this scale is in Eb Phrygian.
Scales that contain it
Eb Spanish HeptatonicEb · Fb · Gb · G · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db
Contains every note of Eb Phrygian.
Understanding Eb 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.
Eb Phrygian and D# Phrygian are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. D# Phrygian
How it is built
On Eb the mode is Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db, 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 Eb Phrygian?
- Eb Phrygian contains Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db. 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 Eb 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 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3, with 1 as the thumb. Every position plays when you press it.
- What chords are in the key of Eb Phrygian?
- Stacking thirds on each degree of Eb Phrygian gives Ebm (i), FbM (II), Gb (III), Abm (iv), Bbdim (v°), CbM (VI), Dbm (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.