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