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