Bb Phrygian scale
- Notes
- Bb Cb Db Eb F Gb Ab
- Formula
- 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
- Steps
- H W W W H W W (W tone, H semitone)
- Also called
- Bb Phrygian mode
- Also written
- A# Phrygian: A# B C# D# E# F# G#
Seven notes from Bb up to the next Bb. Each note is written with the letter its degree names, one letter each, so the spelling follows the formula.
Bb Phrygian on the piano
From Bb4 to Bb5, the root in blue-green.
Intervals from Bb
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bb | 1 | root | 0 |
| Cb | b2 | minor second | 1 |
| Db | b3 | minor third | 3 |
| Eb | 4 | perfect fourth | 5 |
| F | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| Gb | b6 | minor sixth | 8 |
| Ab | b7 | minor seventh | 10 |
Bb 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 Bb Phrygian
Every other note of the scale stacked on each note. Numerals are measured against the major scale on Bb, so a b marks a chord root a semitone lower than in major.
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | Bbm | Bb Db F | |
| bII | Cb (same notes, spelled B on its chord page) | Cb Eb Gb | |
| bIII | Db | Db F Ab | |
| iv | Ebm | Eb Gb Bb | |
| v° | Fdim | F Ab Cb | |
| bVI | Gb (same notes, spelled F# on its chord page) | Gb Bb Db | |
| bvii | Abm (same notes, spelled G#m on its chord page) | Ab Cb Eb |
Seventh chords
Same notes, different home note
Bb Phrygian uses exactly the same notes as Db Mixolydian, Eb natural minor, F Locrian, F# major, Ab Dorian and B 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 Bb as home.
How Bb Phrygian is built
Phrygian is the natural minor with a minor 2nd: against Bb natural minor, C becomes Cb. It has the same notes as F# major, played from its 3rd note. The note a semitone above the root, Cb, is its whole character: a chord on Cb falling to Bb is the dark half-step cadence heard in flamenco and metal.
Flamenco more often raises the 3rd as well (Bb Cb D ...), a scale called Phrygian dominant; that one is the 5th mode of Eb 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. A# Phrygian is the same sounds written from A#; 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.