E Phrygian ♭4Scale

Formula

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

E Phrygian ♭4 on the chromatic circle

E 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 CI Harmonic major ♭7 DII Dorian ♭5 1 EIII Phrygian ♭4 ♭2 FIV Lydian ♭3 ♭3 GV Mixolydian ♭2 ♭4 A♭VI Lydian augmented ♯2 5 BVII Locrian 𝄫7 E Phrygian ♭4
The whole neck

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

Chords in E 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
iEm7E G B D
♭iiFm(maj7)F A♭ C E
♭IIIG7G B D F
♭IV+A♭maj7♯5A♭ C E G
v°B°7B D F A♭
♭VICmaj7C E G B
♭vii°Dm7♭5D F A♭ C
Context

Where E Phrygian ♭4 fits

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

E 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

E Phrygian ♭4 scale questions

What notes are in the E Phrygian ♭4 scale?

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

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

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

What chords are in the E Phrygian ♭4 scale?

Em7 (i), Fm(maj7) (♭ii), G7 (♭III), A♭maj7♯5 (♭IV+), B°7 (v°), Cmaj7 (♭VI), Dm7♭5 (♭vii°).

When is the E Phrygian ♭4 scale used?

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