A♭ Phrygian ♭4Scale

Formula

H W H 1½ H W W 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 5 ♭6 ♭7
The family

A♭ Phrygian ♭4 on the chromatic circle

A♭ Phrygian ♭4 is the 3rd mode of the Harmonic major family. Pick another note on the circle to open the scale that starts there.

W W H W H 1½ H ♭6 F♭I Harmonic major ♭7 G♭II Dorian ♭5 1 A♭III Phrygian ♭4 ♭2 B𝄫IV Lydian ♭3 ♭3 C♭V Mixolydian ♭2 ♭4 D𝄫VI Lydian augmented ♯2 5 E♭VII Locrian 𝄫7 A♭ Phrygian ♭4
The whole neck

A♭ Phrygian ♭4 across the fretboard

Every note of the scale up to the 16th fret, named by its degree. The root is a ring. Step through the five CAGED positions one at a time in the scale library.

3 5 7 9 12 15 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 5 ♭6 ♭7 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 5 ♭6 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 5 ♭6 ♭7
Harmony

Chords in A♭ Phrygian ♭4

Stack every other note of the scale from each degree and you get its chords. Open any of them in the chord library.

DegreeChordNotes
iA♭m7A♭ C♭ E♭ G♭
♭iiB𝄫m(maj7)B𝄫 D𝄫 F♭ A♭
♭IIIC♭7C♭ E♭ G♭ B𝄫
♭IV+D𝄫maj7♯5D𝄫 F♭ A♭ C♭
v°E♭°7E♭ G♭ B𝄫 D𝄫
♭VIF♭maj7F♭ A♭ C♭ E♭
♭vii°G♭m7♭5G♭ B𝄫 D𝄫 F♭
Context

Where A♭ Phrygian ♭4 fits

Over a dominant 7♯9 chord in modern jazz and fusion: a rare colour.

A♭ Phrygian ♭4 is mode 3 of the harmonic major family. The same notes played from each of its other degrees give the family's other modes:

Move one note by a half step and you get a different scale:

Phrygian ♭4 scale in every key

A♭ Phrygian ♭4 scale questions

What notes are in the A♭ Phrygian ♭4 scale?

A♭ B𝄫 C♭ D𝄫 E♭ F♭ G♭. As degrees from the root: 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 5 ♭6 ♭7.

What is the A♭ Phrygian ♭4 scale formula?

1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 5 ♭6 ♭7, or in steps between the notes, H W H 1½ H W W (W is a whole step of two frets, H a half step of one fret, 1½ three frets).

How do you play the A♭ Phrygian ♭4 scale on guitar?

This page draws every note of A♭ Phrygian ♭4 up to the 16th fret, each named by its degree with the root as a ring. To learn it a few frets at a time, open it in the scale library and step through its five CAGED positions, from the G shape to the E shape to the D shape to the C shape to the A shape.

What chords are in the A♭ Phrygian ♭4 scale?

A♭m7 (i), B𝄫m(maj7) (♭ii), C♭7 (♭III), D𝄫maj7♯5 (♭IV+), E♭°7 (v°), F♭maj7 (♭VI), G♭m7♭5 (♭vii°).

When is the A♭ Phrygian ♭4 scale used?

Over a dominant 7♯9 chord in modern jazz and fusion: a rare colour.