The C Phrygian scale is C Db Eb F G Ab Bb. It's shown below across all 24 frets: use the Shape menu to see each of the 5 positions, and press Play to hear it.
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See Mentorship PlansThe C Phrygian scale has 7 notes: C Db Eb F G Ab Bb. Its formula is 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7, and the gaps between the notes go H W W W H W W (W is a whole step of two frets, H is a half step of one fret). C Phrygian uses the same notes as Ab major, its parent major scale. The difference is that everything centres on C.
Compared with C minor, it has the flat 2nd (Db) instead of the 2nd (D).
| Degree | Interval | Name | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Root | C |
| 2 | b2 | Flat 2nd | D♭ |
| 3 | b3 | Minor 3rd | E♭ |
| 4 | 4 | 4th | F |
| 5 | 5 | 5th | G |
| 6 | b6 | Minor 6th | A♭ |
| 7 | b7 | Minor 7th | B♭ |
The fretboard above shows C Phrygian across all 24 frets. Its root, C, is on the low E string at the 8th fret, and Position 1 starts there. Use the Shape menu to see the 5 positions one at a time (plus the seven 3-notes-per-string shapes, great for speed and legato), press Play to hear the one you're looking at, and switch the labels to intervals to see where the root, 3rd and 5th sit in each shape.
Learn one position until you can play it up and down without looking, then learn the next one along and practise moving between the two. Before long the whole neck joins up.
These are the chords you get by stacking every other note of the scale on each degree. They're the chords that sound "at home" with C Phrygian.
| Degree | Triad | 7th chord |
|---|---|---|
| i | Cm | Cm7 |
| II | Db | Dbmaj7 |
| III | Eb | Eb7 |
| iv | Fm | Fm7 |
| v° | Gdim | Gm7b5 |
| VI | Ab | Abmaj7 |
| vii | Bbm | Bbm7 |
Phrygian is a minor mode with a flat 2nd. That half step above the root gives it a dark, tense, Spanish sound used in flamenco and in a lot of metal.
Use it over C minor chords, especially when the harmony moves between Cm and the chord a half step above. Resolve the b2 down to the root to really hear the colour of the mode.
C Major C Minor C Minor Pentatonic C Major Pentatonic C Blues C Dorian C Lydian C Mixolydian C Locrian C Harmonic Minor C Melodic Minor
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The C Phrygian scale is C, Db, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb.
The Phrygian scale formula is 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7, which is a step pattern of H W W W H W W.
There are 5 positions, plus seven 3-notes-per-string (3NPS) shapes, one starting on each note of the scale. Use the Shape menu on this page to see each one on its own.
Compared with C minor, it has the flat 2nd (Db) instead of the 2nd (D).