B♭ Phrygian ♭4Scale

Formula

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

B♭ Phrygian ♭4 on the chromatic circle

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

B♭ 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 5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 5 ♭6 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭4 5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 5 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 5 ♭6
Harmony

Chords in B♭ 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
iB♭m7B♭ D♭ F A♭
♭iiC♭m(maj7)C♭ E𝄫 G♭ B♭
♭IIID♭7D♭ F A♭ C♭
♭IV+E𝄫maj7♯5E𝄫 G♭ B♭ D♭
v°F°7F A♭ C♭ E𝄫
♭VIG♭maj7G♭ B♭ D♭ F
♭vii°A♭m7♭5A♭ C♭ E𝄫 G♭
Context

Where B♭ Phrygian ♭4 fits

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

B♭ 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

B♭ Phrygian ♭4 scale questions

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

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

What is the B♭ 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 B♭ Phrygian ♭4 scale on guitar?

This page draws every note of B♭ 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 A shape to the G shape to the E shape to the D shape to the C shape.

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

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

When is the B♭ Phrygian ♭4 scale used?

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