B Phrygian scale
- Notes
- B C D E F# G A
- Formula
- 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
- Steps
- H W W W H W W (W tone, H semitone)
- Also called
- B Phrygian mode
Seven notes from B up to the next B. Each note is written with the letter its degree names, one letter each, so the spelling follows the formula.
B Phrygian on the piano
From B4 to B5, the root in blue-green.
Intervals from B
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| B | 1 | root | 0 |
| C | b2 | minor second | 1 |
| D | b3 | minor third | 3 |
| E | 4 | perfect fourth | 5 |
| F# | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| G | b6 | minor sixth | 8 |
| A | b7 | minor seventh | 10 |
B 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 B Phrygian
Every other note of the scale stacked on each note. Numerals are measured against the major scale on B, so a b marks a chord root a semitone lower than in major.
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | Bm | B D F# | |
| bII | C | C E G | |
| bIII | D | D F# A | |
| iv | Em | E G B | |
| v° | F#dim | F# A C | |
| bVI | G | G B D | |
| bvii | Am | A C E |
Seventh chords
Same notes, different home note
B Phrygian uses exactly the same notes as C Lydian, D Mixolydian, E natural minor, F# Locrian, G major and A Dorian. What changes is the note the music keeps returning to, and with it which chord sounds like home.
Same notes as the key of G major: the chords are the same seven, but with B as home.
How B Phrygian is built
Phrygian is the natural minor with a minor 2nd: against B natural minor, C# becomes C. It has the same notes as G major, played from its 3rd note. The note a semitone above the root, C, is its whole character: a chord on C falling to B is the dark half-step cadence heard in flamenco and metal.
Flamenco more often raises the 3rd as well (B C D# ...), a scale called Phrygian dominant; that one is the 5th mode of E 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.