D♭ Phrygian ♭4Scale

Formula

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

D♭ Phrygian ♭4 on the chromatic circle

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

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

Chords in D♭ 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
iD♭m7D♭ F♭ A♭ C♭
♭iiE𝄫m(maj7)E𝄫 G𝄫 B𝄫 D♭
♭IIIF♭7F♭ A♭ C♭ E𝄫
♭IV+G𝄫maj7♯5G𝄫 B𝄫 D♭ F♭
v°A♭°7A♭ C♭ E𝄫 G𝄫
♭VIB𝄫maj7B𝄫 D♭ F♭ A♭
♭vii°C♭m7♭5C♭ E𝄫 G𝄫 B𝄫
Context

Where D♭ Phrygian ♭4 fits

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

D♭ 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

D♭ Phrygian ♭4 scale questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

When is the D♭ Phrygian ♭4 scale used?

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