Like every scale, Phrygian Dominant has its own unique sound. In this lesson, we'll explore that sound and learn some of the ways it can be used in our music. Let's start by looking at the ingredients,
or intervals that make up the scale. Here, we have the 12 tone chromatic scale,
from which all scales on guitar are derived. In these initial examples, we'll be starting
on the note C. Phrygian dominant is a 7 tone scale. So that's 7 tones taken from the 12 tone chromatic
scale. From the root or 1, its intervals are as follows. Minor 2nd... major 3rd... perfect 4th... perfect
5th... minor 6th... and minor 7th. The presence of a major 3rd and 5th, on top
of the root, make up what is known as a major triad, the tonic chord of the scale, and which tells
us the scale will work over major chords. But what gives Phrygian Dominant its distinctive
sound is the minor 2nd in relation to the major 3rd Let's hear the scale played in sequence over
a major chord with the same root. As you can hear, it has a rather haunting,
tense quality, mainly due to that minor 2nd interval This is why you'll hear it used in a lot of heavy
metal. But it's found in several musical traditions,
including flamenco, middle eastern, Jewish, Eastern European, Indian, and east Asian,
where the scale is referred to under various names. To many western ears, especially those accustomed
to the more vanilla major scale, it's been described as an exotic sound and has often
been used to spice up pop and rock. Let's take a moment to hear the difference
between phrygian and the major scale... As established, when accompanying music, Phrygian
Dominant works over major chords. But using the other tones from the scale,
we can see that it would work over 7th and extended chords such as dominant 7th... augmented...
and flat 9 chords. You'll find chord tracks to encourage your
exploration of this scale's sound on the lesson page. Let's just take a moment to look at how the scale forms on the fretboard. As with any scale, there are a number of patterns
you can use, but a good place to begin, for playing over single chords, is with this three
notes per string pattern. Looking at the fingering, it's quite a stretch
from the minor 2nd to major 3rd on the 1st and 6th strings. So at lower frets, you might
prefer to use this more condensed pattern. We'll look at more patterns and expanding
the scale across the entire neck as we progress. Just use these initial patterns to get a feel
for the scale. Phrygian Dominant has a modal function, which
means it can be used as a harmonic system centred around its tonic chord. That means the scale can be used to build
compatible chord changes and movements of harmony that invoke the Phrygian Dominant
sound. Each degree of the scale has its own compatible
chord made up of notes from the scale. So as phrygian dominant has 7 degrees, we
have 7 compatible chords we can use in a sequence. The most commonly used chords in a phrygian
dominant sequence are the 1, 2, 4 and 7 chords. For example, let's say C major was our key,
and C Phrygian Dominant is our scale. C major would be its tonic or root chord. But if we move each note of that tonic chord
up one scale degree, we'd fall on the scale's 2 chord on half step higher, Db major in
this case. You can either keep the bass note on C or
move it to Db with the change. This is a common movement you'll hear in flamenco
music. But you'll also hear this movement using power chords. As these chords are an intrinsic part of the
scale, you could play the same C Phrygian scale over both chords. Another common movement would be to the 7th
degree of the scale, which would naturally fall as a minor chord one whole step down
from the tonic. In the harmonized C phrygian scale, the 7
chord would be Bb minor. Combine the 1, 2 and 7 chords in a sequence,
and you'll get a typical phrygian dominant derived harmony. So it's useful to explore how movements of
harmony and chords can be pulled from scales, known as harmonizing the scale, as well as
single note melodies, as this will train your ears to hear when a particular scale will
work. On the lesson page you'll find these chords
mapped out in several keys. Phrygian dominant is the 5th mode of the harmonic
minor scale. This means it begins on the 5th degree of
the harmonic minor scale. So if we visualize the harmonic minor scale
on the fretboard, using this condensed pattern, its 5th degree would become the root of its
5th mode, phrygian dominant. Play from the 5th note of harmonic minor,
without any accompaniment, and you'll hear the phrygian dominant scale. Therefore both harmonic minor and phrygian
dominant are intrinsically connected. A harmonic minor uses the same 7 notes as
E phrygian dominant. C harmonic minor uses the same 7 notes as
G Phrygian dominant. Many musicians prefer to see phrygian dominant
as its related harmonic minor pattern. Phrygian dominant is typically used, or at
least implied, whenever there is tension over a major or dominant 7th chord. This is because the scale itself carries a
lot of tension. In minor keys, you'll typically hear movements
between the minor tonic or 1 chord and the major 5 chord, also called the dominant, which
is partly where phrygian dominant gets its name. For example, if we started on D minor and
moved to A major, a lot of tension will be held in that A major chord. Therefore, phrygian dominant would be a good
scale to use over that chord. To keep things simple, all we need to do is
change from D natural minor to D harmonic minor to get the phrygian sound over that 5
chord. Simply sharpen the 7th degree of the natural
minor scale to get harmonic minor, and therefore its related phrygian dominant mode. Naturally, the 5 chord carries the most tension
in major and minor keys. But there are a few other instances in which
this major or dominant tension arises. For example... Take this E major key progression that uses
a G#7 chord. Tension is created in that G# chord. So
while E major or E major pentatonic would naturally work over the other chords, let's
try changing to phrygian dominant over that G# chord. A simple way to see this change on the fretboard
is to sharpen the 5th of the major scale to get phrygian over the 3 chord. Seems to complement the tension of the G# chord nicely. You'll also hear a similar tension in major
keys when the 6 chord is major or, more commonly, a dominant 7th chord. In the key of C major, that 6 chord would
be A major or A7, such as in this example... So, a good rule of thumb is, whenever a major
or dominant 7th chord creates tension, phrygian dominant will help to support and enhance that
tension. So it's a good idea to train your ear to this
sound. I've provided some examples of this on the
lesson page. I've tried to keep this lesson as succinct
as possible, and we've covered the main features and applications of phrygian dominant. But if you want to continue your exploration
of this scale, visit the lesson page, where you'll find chord tracks, diagrams and tabbed
examples. Cheers!
