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

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

The explorer above is set to D♭ 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.

D♭ Phrygian dominant scale notes

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

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

D♭ Phrygian dominant scale positions on the guitar

With three notes on every string, D♭ Phrygian dominant has seven patterns that climb the neck. Position 1 starts on D♭ on the low E string at fret 9; 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 9–14	10 13 14	10 12 14	10 11 13	9 11 12	9 11 12	9 10 13
Position 2 frets 10–16	13 14 16	12 14 15	11 13 14	11 12 15	11 12 14	10 13 14
Position 3 frets 12–18	14 16 17	14 15 18	13 14 16	12 15 16	12 14 16	13 14 16
Position 4 frets 14–19	16 17 19	15 18 19	14 16 18	15 16 18	14 16 17	14 16 17
Position 5 frets 16–21	17 19 21	18 19 21	16 18 19	16 18 19	16 17 20	16 17 19
Position 6 frets 17–22	19 21 22	19 21 22	18 19 22	18 19 21	17 20 21	17 19 21
Position 7 frets 7–13	9 10 13	9 10 12	7 10 11	7 9 11	8 9 11	7 9 10

Chords in the D♭ Phrygian dominant scale

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

	I	♭II	iii°	iv	v°	♭VI+	♭vii
Triad	D♭	E𝄫	Fdim	G♭m	A♭dim	B𝄫aug	C♭m
7th chord	D♭7	E𝄫maj7	Fdim7	G♭mMaj7	A♭m7♭5	B𝄫maj7♯5	C♭m7

Where you hear it

D♭ 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 D♭ Phrygian dominant

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

How to practise it

Play position 1 (frets 9–14) 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 D♭ (1) in each position.
Improvise over a backing track, ending your phrases on D♭.