3 Ways To Create Music Using The Phrygian Mode On Guitar
by Simon Candy
In this video, you learn how to play the phrygian mode on guitar. The phrygian mode is one of the darker sounding modes.
It is often associated with metal and flamenco styles of music, but can be found in other genres of music too including rock and jazz.
In this lesson, I’ll simplify the phrygian mode for you by breaking it down in great detail, showing you several ways you can create music with it on your guitar.
First, you learn the easiest way to access the phrygian mode.
This is on a single string and helps you understand the mode before looking at other ways to play it.
Once you have this down, you then learn to play the phrygian mode in the following ways:
• The derivative method: This is when you relate the mode to its parent sale
• As a pentatonic scale with added notes: A super cool way to integrate all your pentatonic riffs and licks into the mode
• Triad shapes: This approach produces a very melodic sound with larger intervallic jumps between notes
You also learn the chords of the phrygian mode.
Many people miss this vital part of playing in any key, the chords!
The understanding of modes begins by harmonising the scale and discovering the chords that belong to the mode.
Watch the video below to learn more:
The Phrygian Mode
Phrygian is the third mode of the major scale.
We are looking at E Phrygian in this lesson, which is the third mode of C Major:
E Phrygian is a mode of C Major because it has the same notes as C Major.
The important difference is that the root is now E, not C.
You can also think of E Phrygian as an E minor scale with a flat 2:
A great place to start with modes is on a single string.
This way you can easily play the mode and clearly see the relationship between each of the notes:
Phrygian Mode Approach 1: The Parent Scale
The first way we can access the Phrygian mode on guitar is via the parent scale, in this case it’s the C Major scale:
When played over a Phrygian chord progression, as demonstrated in the video, this scale takes on the role of the Phrygian mode.
Phrygian Mode Approach 2: The Pentatonic Scale
Another great way to access the Phrygian mode is via the pentatonic scale.
Here we have the E minor pentatonic scale with added notes to complete E Phrygian:
Watch the video to see this approach demonstrated.
Phrygian Mode Approach 3: Triads
Another great way to access the Phrygian mode is using triads.
Both the F and G triads exist in E Phrygian and collectively have 6 of the 7 notes of the mode:
Therefore, you can use the F and G major triads to access the Phrygian mode.
Watch the video to see this approach demonstrated.