Phrygian Mode

next up is the Phrygian mode, the third mode in our ever growing arsenal. We're almost halfway through! this is a great mode to learn, because it can really spawn some excellent, creative passages.

For one, Jazz musicians use this to improvise quite a bit, and the second genre of music that you hear the Phrygian mode in a lot, is heavy metal. Jefferson Airplane constructed White Rabbit around the Phrygian mode and Yngwie Malmsteen, Metallica, Megadeth and so forth, have all used this little mode of darkness. Danny Elfman (Tim Burton's composer) uses the Phrygian mode frequently. We can't forget about King Diamond, either. Anyways, you get the point. This mode has the moody dark feel for both a clean and distorted sound. So lets get to it.

First of all, the Phrygian mode is the 3rd position of the Major scale, which means that it is constructed from the 3rd note of the Major scale.

The Whole step/Half step formula is as follows:

H,W,W,W,H,W,W

1,b2,b3,4,5,b6,b7

That means that if you construct this mode from the Major scale, say G, you would flat the 2,3,6 and 7th notes of the G Major scale to create G Phrygian.



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Below is a video showing the mode so that you have a visual and audible reference. After the mode is shown and played through, a heavy metal demonstration is presented.