C PhrygianScale
Formula
C Phrygian on the chromatic circle
C Phrygian is the 3rd mode of the Major family. Pick another note on the circle to open the scale that starts there.
C Phrygian 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.
Chords in C Phrygian
Stack every other note of the scale from each degree and you get its chords. Open any of them in the chord library.
Where C Phrygian fits
Dark minor with a ♭2: metal riffs, Spanish-flavoured music and modal jazz. Over a minor chord when the ♭2 is meant to be heard.
C Phrygian is mode 3 of the 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 scale in every key
C Phrygian scale questions
What notes are in the C Phrygian scale?
C D♭ E♭ F G A♭ B♭. As degrees from the root: 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7.
What is the C Phrygian scale formula?
1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7, or in steps between the notes, H W W W 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 C Phrygian scale on guitar?
This page draws every note of C Phrygian 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 C shape to the A shape to the G shape to the E shape to the D shape.
What chords are in the C Phrygian scale?
Cm7 (i), D♭maj7 (♭II), E♭7 (♭III), Fm7 (iv), Gm7♭5 (v°), A♭maj7 (♭VI), B♭m7 (♭vii).
When is the C Phrygian scale used?
Dark minor with a ♭2: metal riffs, Spanish-flavoured music and modal jazz. Over a minor chord when the ♭2 is meant to be heard.