Phrygian mode

The mode built on the third degree of a major scale, a minor scale with a flattened second that gives it a dark, Spanish colour.

The flattened second degree is what sets Phrygian apart: a semitone above the tonic is unusual and immediately recognisable, and it is the reason the mode sounds flamenco, metal or ancient depending on how it is played. It works well over a static minor chord and is extremely common in heavy music for exactly the reason it is uncommon in pop, namely that the flattened second refuses to resolve conventionally. It is one fret away from the natural minor shape.

Example: A metal riff built around a minor chord with a flattened second above it, sounding Spanish or Arabic, is in Phrygian.

Phrygian mode

See also