A Phrygian Dominant Scale

What is the A Phrygian Dominant Scale?

Phrygian dominant is the fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale, and it sounds like Phrygian mode but with a major 3rd instead of a minor 3rd. That combination of the exotic ♭2 with a bright major 3rd is the defining sound of flamenco, Middle Eastern music, and the V chord resolving to a minor tonic in classical harmony. Here's how the A Phrygian Dominant Scale lays out on the fretboard.

Notes and Positions

Spanish/Middle Eastern flavor; 5th mode of harmonic minor. On bass, the fretboard view helps you visualize where the important tones sit for building lines across positions. Use a finger-per-fret approach first, then add shifts only when the line needs a wider range. In the key of A, the notes are: A, Bb, C#, D, E, F, G.

How to Use It

You'll often hear it in Flamenco, Metal, and Middle Eastern. A good way to internalize the sound is to sing the root, then sing a few scale degrees before you play them.

Practice root-on-E and root-on-A boxes separately, then connect them with one clean position shift. Use the interactive fretboard above to spot repeats of the same note on different strings and frets.