The Phrygian b4 Mode – Easy Guitar Shapes and Theory

What is the Phrygian b4 Mode?

This lesson is about the Phrygian (b4) scale aka Phrygian b11 or Indian scale or Phrygian diminished 11 known as the third mode of the Harmonic major scale. It is made up of a root (1), minor second (b2), minor third (b3), flat fourth (b4), perfect fifth (5), minor sixth (b6) and minor seventh (b7).

The Phrygian b4 mode is one of the most used modes of the harmonic major scale, particularly over dominant chords when you want to add a bit of tension. Indeed, the Phrygian b4 mode contains three altered tones that are: b9, #9 and b13.

You will see in the chart below that there are similarities with the Altered scale, the fifth mode of the melodic minor scale.

Comparison Between The Phrygian (b4) Mode And The Phrygian Mode.

Here is a quick comparison with the Phrygian scale, third mode of the major scale. You see it is built with a perfect fourth (4) instead of a diminished fourth (b4).

Comparison With The Altered Scale

As shown in the chart below, the altered scale (seventh mode of the melodic minor scale) has a diminished fifth instead of a perfect fifth.