A Phrygian scale
- Notes
- A Bb C D E F G
- Formula
- 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
- Steps
- H W W W H W W (W tone, H semitone)
- Also called
- A Phrygian mode
Seven notes from A up to the next A. Each note is written with the letter its degree names, one letter each, so the spelling follows the formula.
A Phrygian on the piano
From A4 to A5, the root in blue-green.
Intervals from A
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | root | 0 |
| Bb | b2 | minor second | 1 |
| C | b3 | minor third | 3 |
| D | 4 | perfect fourth | 5 |
| E | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| F | b6 | minor sixth | 8 |
| G | b7 | minor seventh | 10 |
A Phrygian on the guitar
Standard tuning, high e on top as in tablature, open strings to fret 12. Every dot is a note of the scale; the pattern repeats from fret 12 up.
The seven chords of A Phrygian
Every other note of the scale stacked on each note. Numerals are measured against the major scale on A, so a b marks a chord root a semitone lower than in major.
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | Am | A C E | |
| bII | Bb | Bb D F | |
| bIII | C | C E G | |
| iv | Dm | D F A | |
| v° | Edim | E G Bb | |
| bVI | F | F A C | |
| bvii | Gm | G Bb D |
Seventh chords
Same notes, different home note
A Phrygian uses exactly the same notes as C Mixolydian, D natural minor, E Locrian, F major, G Dorian and Bb Lydian. What changes is the note the music keeps returning to, and with it which chord sounds like home.
Same notes as the key of F major: the chords are the same seven, but with A as home.
How A Phrygian is built
Phrygian is the natural minor with a minor 2nd: against A natural minor, B becomes Bb. It has the same notes as F major, played from its 3rd note. The note a semitone above the root, Bb, is its whole character: a chord on Bb falling to A is the dark half-step cadence heard in flamenco and metal.
Flamenco more often raises the 3rd as well (A Bb C# ...), a scale called Phrygian dominant; that one is the 5th mode of D harmonic minor, not this page.
Played some notes and not sure which scale they come from? The scale finder listens to the piano, a MIDI keyboard or the microphone and ranks all 180 scales.
What this page cannot do
- One spelling per scale. the root is spelled the way that needs the fewest sharps and flats.
- Equal temperament only. Blues and many folk traditions bend notes between these pitches, and Arabic and Turkish maqam scales use quarter tones that a piano cannot play.
- The guitar diagram shows standard tuning only and does not suggest fingerings; any note can be played in several places.
- The sound is a simple synthesised tone made in your browser, not a recorded instrument.