Ab Phrygian
A flat Phrygian scale for guitar.
The Ab Phrygian is a seven-note scale, it is also called a mode. Colored circles in the diagram mark the notes in the scale (darker color highlighting the root notes). In the fretboard pattern, the first root note is on the 6th string, 4th fret.
Ab Phrygian 2 octaves
Ab Phrygian full fretboard
Ab Phrygian note names
The scale displayed with its numeric formula, notes, intervals and scale degrees.
| Formula | Notes | Intervals | Degrees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ab | Unison | Tonic |
| b2 | Bbb | Minor second | Supertonic |
| b3 | Cb | Minor third | Mediant |
| 4 | Db | Perfect fourth | Subdominant |
| 5 | Eb | Perfect fifth | Dominant |
| b6 | Fb | Minor sixth | Submediant |
| b7 | Gb | Minor seventh | Subtonic |
The second degree is written as Bbb, which is the same as A. The third degree is written as Cb, which is the same as B. The sixth degree is written as Fb, which is the same as E. A practice in a scale notation is to not include the same letter twice, if it can be avoided.
The A flat Phrygian scale consists of seven notes. These can be described as steps on the guitar fingerboard according to the following formula: half, whole, whole, whole, half, whole, whole from the first note to the same in the next octave.
The Ab Phrygian is the third mode of the E Major Scale. It contains exactly the same notes, but starts on another note. Since Phrygian has a Minor scale quality it can also be seen as a mode of the Db Minor.
The Ab Phrygian is also the same as the Ab Minor apart from one note, the second in the scale.
This scale is typically played in styles such as Spanish music and metal.
The easiest way to learn this scale is to think of it as either the E Major starting from its third note or the Db Minor starting from its fifth note.
Chords that are related to this scale are the following:
| Abm, Abm7 |
| A, Amaj7, A6, A6/9, Amaj9, Amaj13 |
| B, B7, B6, B6/9, B9, B11, B13 |
| Dbm, Dbm7, Dbm9, Dbm11 |
| Ebdim, Ebm7b5 |
| E, Emaj7, E6, E6/9, Emaj9, Emaj13 |
| Gbm, Gbm7, Gbm6, Gbm9, Gbm11, Gbm13 |
The tones in these chords correspond to the tones of the Ab Phrygian scale, with some possible ones excluded.
Related to this scale is the A flat Phrygian Dominant Mode. It is identical with the Ab Phrygian except for a major instead of a minor third. It can be displayed as follows:
| Formula | Notes | Intervals | Degrees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ab | Unison | Tonic |
| b2 | Bbb | Minor second | Supertonic |
| 3 | C | Major third | Mediant |
| 4 | Db | Perfect fourth | Subdominant |
| 5 | Eb | Diminished fifth | Dominant |
| b6 | Fb | Minor sixth | Submediant |
| b7 | Gb | Minor seventh | Subtonic |
The Ab Phrygian Dominant contains the same notes as the Db Harmonic Minor Scale, but starts on another note.
Start the audio and play along with your guitar! Use notes from the scale in the diagram above.
Normal tempo: