Phrygian Dominant

Mode 5 of harmonic minor — the dark-cadence scale, twelve keys

Phrygian dominant is the 5th mode of harmonic minor. G phrygian dominant is the 5th mode of C harmonic minor — same seven pitches, starting from the 5th degree: G A♭ B C D E♭ F G. Played over G7 going to Cm, it supplies the ♭9 (A♭), the ♭13 (E♭), and the natural 3 (B) automatically.

The interval signature: the augmented second between ♭2 and 3 (in G phrygian dominant: A♭ to B, three half steps in a single scale step). That leap is the scale's flavour — flamenco, klezmer, Middle Eastern modes, and minor-key bebop cadences all draw from this single interval.

Now 2 octaves, both hands — the same pattern extended up and back with fingering marked above every note in each hand.

Intervals

1 – ♭2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7. Aug 2 between ♭2 and 3.

Use

Over V7 going to im. G phryg dom = V scale for Cm.

G7 → Cm phryg dom

C7 → Fm phryg dom

F7 → B♭m phryg dom

B♭7 → E♭m phryg dom

E♭7 → A♭m phryg dom

G♯7 → C♯m phryg dom

C♯7 → F♯m phryg dom

F♯7 → Bm phryg dom

B7 → Em phryg dom

E7 → Am phryg dom

A7 → Dm phryg dom

D7 → Gm phryg dom

The Daily Drill

Resolve into the minor

3 minPlay G phrygian dominant slowly. Pause on the A♭ → B move (♭2 to 3). That augmented second is the scale's identity — every other step is a major or minor second.
8 minCycle three keys. Always practice phrygian dominant as part of a V → im cadence — never in isolation. Land the line on the root of the target minor chord.
4 minImprovise an 8-bar phrase: 4 bars on the V7 using phrygian dominant, 4 bars on the im using natural minor or melodic minor. Hear the colour shift.
3 minSame scale, different framing: play G phrygian dominant for 8 bars over a static G7 vamp (no resolution). Now it sounds like flamenco / Andalusian, not bebop. The application is what makes the scale jazz.

Phrygian vs. phrygian dominant

Plain phrygian mode (the 3rd mode of major) has a ♭2 but a ♭3 — a fully minor scale (1, ♭2, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭6, ♭7). Phrygian dominant raises the 3rd back to natural, making it a dominant (1, ♭2, 3, 4, 5, ♭6, ♭7). That single alteration changes the scale from a static modal flavour into a functional dominant scale that resolves down a fifth to a minor i. The augmented second between ♭2 and 3 (the lowered 2 and raised 3) is the gap that opens up when you do the alteration — and it's what gives the scale its Iberian / Middle-Eastern colour.

The augmented second between ♭2 and 3. Three half steps in one step. The sound of every minor-key cadence in bebop, every flamenco phrase, every klezmer melody.

80 bpm

Sound