If you’ve ever heard a piece of music that sounds a bit Egyptian, then it’s likely that it was using a type of scale called the Phrygian mode. It’s quite an unusual scale that isn’t very common but pops up in Spanish music and lots of film music.
In this post, I’ll take a look at what the Phrygian mode is and how we play it, but first, let’s take a look at what the music modes actually are.
Table of Contents
What is a Mode?
The modes (also known as the Greek modes) are a series of seven diatonic scales based on the major scale.
Each mode is the same series order of semitones and tones (half steps and whole steps) but shifted one note higher.
For example if you were to play all the notes from C major starting on C you would be playing C ionian mode, but if you were to play all the notes from C major starting on G you would be playing G mixolydian mode.
| Modal scales | Notes of the mode |
| C Ionian mode | C – D – E – F – G – A – B |
| D Dorian mode | D – E – F – G – A – B – C |
| E Phrygian mode | E – F – G – A – B – C – D |
| F Lydian mode | F – G – A – B – C – D – E |
| G Mixolydian mode | G – A – B – C – D – E – F |
| A Aeolian mode | A – B – C – D – E – F – G |
| B Locrian mode | B – C – D – E – F – G – A |
What is the Phrygian Mode?
The phrygian mode, which is pronounced ‘fridge-ian‘, is the third mode of the major scale.
It’s named after the ancient Greek kingdom of Phrygia, which was around over 3000 years ago. Back then scales were named after the regions of Greece where they were prominent.
To play an E phrygian scale all you have to do is play all the notes of C major but starting on E.
The Phrygian mode uses the formula of semitones and tones: S – T – T – T – S – T – T
Which in half and whole steps is: H – W – W – W – H – W – W
Degrees of the Phrygian Scale
Even though the Phrygian scale is a mode of the major scale, it’s actually a type of minor scale. This is because the 3rd note is an interval of a minor 3rd above the tonic.
As well as the minor 3rd it also has a minor 6th, 7th and a minor 2nd (the only other mode to have a flattened 2nd is the locrian mode). This means the 2nd note of the scale is a semitone (half step) above the tonic.
Here are the different scale degrees of the Phrygian mode.
- 1. Root
- b2. Minor second
- b3. Minor third
- 4. Perfect fourth
- 5. Perfect fifth
- b6. Minor sixth
- b7. Minor seventh
The phrygian mode is one of the darkest sounding modes as so many of the notes are flattened (lowered a semitone). The more notes in the scale that are minor intervals the darker the sound and the more that are major the brighter the sound.
It’s also very similar to the natural minor scale except the 2nd note which is minor rather than major.
Music Written in the Phrygian Mode
The phrygian scale is one of the least common scales in music and so isn’t used a lot. You’ll often find the phrygian dominant scale (which is also known as the Spanish gypsy scale used a lot in flamenco music.
Side note: the phrygian dominant scale is almost the same except the 3rd note is raised from a minor 3rd to a major 3rd.
Check out this piece of Spanish guitar to get a feel for it.
The phrygian mode is also used in one of my favourite all time classical pieces: Samuel Barber’s Adagio For Strings.
As you’ll hear in the video below, it’s very melancholic and dark sounding and represents the sound of the phrygian mode well.
It’s in the key of F phrygian and so uses the recognisable minor 2nd (Gb) but also alternates between the phrygian and the phrygian dominant scale (as it uses A naturals too).
List of Phrygian Modes
Just for reference, I’ve included below a list of all the phrygian modes with the notes too.
| Key | Notes in the Phrygian mode |
| C | C – Db – Eb – F – G – Ab – Bb – C |
| C# | C# – D – E – F# – G# – A – B – C# |
| Db | Db – Ebb – Fb – Gb – Ab – Bbb – Cb – Db |
| D | D – Eb – F – G – A – Bb – C – D |
| D# | D# – E – F# – G# – A# – B – C# – D# |
| Eb | Eb – Fb – Gb – Ab – Bb – Cb – Db – Eb |
| E | E – F – G – A – B – C – D – E |
| F | F – Gb – Ab – Bb – C – Db – Eb – F |
| F# | F# – G – A – B – C# – D – E – F# |
| Gb | Gb – Abb – Bbb – Cb – Db – Ebb – Fb – Gb |
| G | G – Ab – Bb – C – D – Eb – F – G |
| G# | G# – A – B – C# – D# – E – F# – G# |
| Ab | Ab – Bbb – Cb – Db – Eb – Fb – Gb – Ab |
| A | A – Bb – C – D – E – F – G – A |
| Bb | Bb – Cb – Db – Eb – F – Gb – Ab – Bb |
| B | B – C – D – E – F# – G – A – B |
That’s it for the Phrygian mode
I hope that helps you understand the phrygian mode a bit better. It’s a very unusual scale and isn’t very common but if you’re a composer I’d highly recommend getting to know it as there’s a lot of very unique sounds you can get from it.
