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A phrygian
A natural minor with one note lowered: B♭. Seven notes: A B♭ C D E F G. The same notes as F major, centred on A.
- Parent key
- F major Same notes
- Colour note
- B♭ The flat 2nd
- Repeating chords
- Am – B♭ i – ♭II
Across one chord in different positions. Down one place, every chord of the mode. | ||||
| iVampAmA · C · E | ||||
| ♭IIVampB♭B♭ · D · F | ||||
| ♭IIICC · E · G | ||||
| ivDmD · F · A | ||||
| v°E°E · G · B♭ | ||||
| ♭VIFF · A · C | ||||
| ♭viiGmG · B♭ · D |
Light up
What makes it phrygian
Natural minor, with the 2nd lowered
One note separates A phrygian from A natural minor: B becomes B♭. Over the same root, that turns Am – B° into Am – B♭.
A natural minor
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
A phrygian
- A
- B♭
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
Hear the difference
One chord that says phrygian
The ♭II chord, B♭, is built on the colour note. Play it to hear those notes together.
The brightness ladder
Seven modes on A
From brightest to darkest, each row lowers one note of the row above. Phrygian is row 6 of seven.
↑ Brighter
- A lydianABC♯D♯EF♯G♯♯4
- A ionian (major)ABC♯DEF♯G♯—
- A mixolydianABC♯DEF♯G♭7
- A dorianABCDEF♯G♭3 ♭7
- A aeolian (natural minor)ABCDEFG♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- A phrygianAB♭CDEFG♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- A locrianAB♭CDE♭FG♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Darker ↓
Jam along
Three drills over the vamp
Play over the repeating Am – B♭ chords with a metronome. The neck highlights the notes to aim for, with B♭ ringed.
- The vamp, with a clickAm – B♭, two bars each, in frets 2–6. Strum on the beat.80 bpmLevel 1
- Scale over the vampUp the scale and back down, one note a beat, while Am – B♭ sounds. Stay in frets 2–6.80 bpmLevel 1
- Land on the colour noteOver B♭, aim for B♭. It is the note that makes it phrygian.80 bpmLevel 2