Compare with
B phrygian
B natural minor with one note lowered: C. Seven notes: B C D E F♯ G A. The same notes as G major, centred on B.
- Parent key
- G major Same notes
- Colour note
- C The flat 2nd
- Repeating chords
- Bm – C i – ♭II
Across one chord in different positions. Down one place, every chord of the mode. | ||||
| iVampBmB · D · F♯ | ||||
| ♭IIVampCC · E · G | ||||
| ♭IIIDD · F♯ · A | ||||
| ivEmE · G · B | ||||
| v°F♯°F♯ · A · C | ||||
| ♭VIGG · B · D | ||||
| ♭viiAmA · C · E |
Light up
What makes it phrygian
Natural minor, with the 2nd lowered
One note separates B phrygian from B natural minor: C♯ becomes C. Over the same root, that turns Bm – C♯° into Bm – C.
B natural minor
- B
- C♯
- D
- E
- F♯
- G
- A
B phrygian
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F♯
- G
- A
Hear the difference
One chord that says phrygian
The ♭II chord, C, is built on the colour note. Play it to hear those notes together.
The brightness ladder
Seven modes on B
From brightest to darkest, each row lowers one note of the row above. Phrygian is row 6 of seven.
↑ Brighter
- B lydianBC♯D♯E♯F♯G♯A♯♯4
- B ionian (major)BC♯D♯EF♯G♯A♯—
- B mixolydianBC♯D♯EF♯G♯A♭7
- B dorianBC♯DEF♯G♯A♭3 ♭7
- B aeolian (natural minor)BC♯DEF♯GA♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- B phrygianBCDEF♯GA♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- B locrianBCDEFGA♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Darker ↓
Jam along
Three drills over the vamp
Play over the repeating Bm – C chords with a metronome. The neck highlights the notes to aim for, with C ringed.
- The vamp, with a clickBm – C, two bars each, in frets 2–5. Strum on the beat.80 bpmLevel 1
- Scale over the vampUp the scale and back down, one note a beat, while Bm – C sounds. Stay in frets 2–5.80 bpmLevel 1
- Land on the colour noteOver C, aim for C. It is the note that makes it phrygian.80 bpmLevel 2