C Phrygian Dominant Scale

What is the C 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 C 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 C, the notes are: C, Db, E, F, G, Ab, Bb.

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.

Start with the root on beat 1, add the 5th on beat 3, then work the other scale tones in as passing notes. Use the interactive fretboard above to spot repeats of the same note on different strings and frets.