A♭ / G♯ Phrygian Dominant Scale

72 scales in every key on a map of the whole neck: positions, patterns, and every note played as it lights up.

The A♭ Phrygian dominant scale has 7 notes: A♭ – B𝄫 – C – D♭ – E♭ – F♭ – G♭. Phrygian dominant (Spanish Phrygian) is the fifth mode of harmonic minor: a major 3rd with a ♭2 and ♭6. It is the sound of flamenco, Middle Eastern melodies and many Bollywood songs.

A♭ and G♯ are the same pitch, so this page covers both names; the notes are spelled from A♭, the way the key is usually written (a double sharp or flat is the correct spelling for that degree). Compared with the A♭ major scale it has ♭2 (B𝄫 instead of B♭), ♭6 (F♭ instead of F), ♭7 (G♭ instead of G).

The explorer above is set to A♭ Phrygian dominant: the whole neck is mapped, and you can zoom into any of its 7 positions, change the labels to degrees or fingers, and hear it up, down and in patterns.

A♭ Phrygian dominant scale notes

Degree	Note	Interval from A♭	Frets above the root	Sargam
1	A♭	R	0	S
♭2	B𝄫	m2	1	r
3	C	M3	4	G
4	D♭	P4	5	M
5	E♭	P5	7	P
♭6	F♭	m6	8	d
♭7	G♭	m7	10	n

Steps between the notes: H W+H H W H W W (W = two frets, H = one fret). Start on any A♭ and follow those steps up one string to play the scale.

A♭ Phrygian dominant scale positions on the guitar

With three notes on every string, A♭ Phrygian dominant has seven patterns that climb the neck. Position 1 starts on A♭ on the low E string at fret 4; each next position starts on the next note of the scale. In standard tuning, high string first:

Position	E (1st)	B	G	D	A	E (6th)
Position 1 frets 4–9	5 8 9	5 7 9	5 6 8	4 6 7	4 6 7	4 5 8
Position 2 frets 5–11	8 9 11	7 9 10	6 8 9	6 7 10	6 7 9	5 8 9
Position 3 frets 7–13	9 11 12	9 10 13	8 9 11	7 10 11	7 9 11	8 9 11
Position 4 frets 9–14	11 12 14	10 13 14	9 11 13	10 11 13	9 11 12	9 11 12
Position 5 frets 11–16	12 14 16	13 14 16	11 13 14	11 13 14	11 12 15	11 12 14
Position 6 frets 12–17	14 16 17	14 16 17	13 14 17	13 14 16	12 15 16	12 14 16
Position 7 frets 14–20	16 17 20	16 17 19	14 17 18	14 16 18	15 16 18	14 16 17

Chords in the A♭ Phrygian dominant scale

Stacking every other note of the scale on each degree gives these chords. They are the chords a song in A♭ Phrygian dominant is made from, and the chords this scale fits over.

	I	♭II	iii°	iv	v°	♭VI+	♭vii
Triad	A♭	B𝄫	Cdim	D♭m	E♭dim	F♭aug	G♭m
7th chord	A♭7	B𝄫maj7	Cdim7	D♭mMaj7	E♭m7♭5	F♭maj7♯5	G♭m7

Where you hear it

A♭ Phrygian dominant is used in flamenco, metal, klezmer, Middle Eastern and Bollywood music. It sounds best over a major or dominant 7th chord on the root, and the V chord of a minor key.

Backing tracks to practise A♭ Phrygian dominant

A♭ blues shuffle A♭ slow blues A♭ major pop A♭ major ballad A♭ jazz ii – V – I A♭ Mixolydian rock

How to practise it

Play position 1 (frets 4–9) slowly, up and down, saying the note names.
Play it with the pattern set to In 3s, then In 4s, at a tempo where every note is clean.
Learn position 2 and how it joins position 1: the notes they share are where your hand moves.
Switch the labels to degrees and find every A♭ (1) in each position.
Improvise over a backing track, ending your phrases on A♭.