B 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 B Phrygian dominant scale has 7 notes: B – C – D♯ – E – F♯ – G – A. 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.

Compared with the B major scale it has ♭2 (C instead of C♯), ♭6 (G instead of G♯), ♭7 (A instead of A♯).

The explorer above is set to B 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.

B Phrygian dominant scale notes

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

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

B Phrygian dominant scale positions on the guitar

With three notes on every string, B Phrygian dominant has seven patterns that climb the neck. Position 1 starts on B on the low E string at fret 7; 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 7–12	8 11 12	8 10 12	8 9 11	7 9 10	7 9 10	7 8 11
Position 2 frets 8–14	11 12 14	10 12 13	9 11 12	9 10 13	9 10 12	8 11 12
Position 3 frets 10–16	12 14 15	12 13 16	11 12 14	10 13 14	10 12 14	11 12 14
Position 4 frets 12–17	14 15 17	13 16 17	12 14 16	13 14 16	12 14 15	12 14 15
Position 5 frets 14–19	15 17 19	16 17 19	14 16 17	14 16 17	14 15 18	14 15 17
Position 6 frets 15–20	17 19 20	17 19 20	16 17 20	16 17 19	15 18 19	15 17 19
Position 7 frets 5–11	7 8 11	7 8 10	5 8 9	5 7 9	6 7 9	5 7 8

Chords in the B Phrygian dominant scale

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

	I	♭II	iii°	iv	v°	♭VI+	♭vii
Triad	B	C	D♯dim	Em	F♯dim	Gaug	Am
7th chord	B7	Cmaj7	D♯dim7	EmMaj7	F♯m7♭5	Gmaj7♯5	Am7

Where you hear it

B 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 B Phrygian dominant

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

How to practise it

Play position 1 (frets 7–12) 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 B (1) in each position.
Improvise over a backing track, ending your phrases on B.