JamEase Sign in Learn to solo

Guitar scales › Phrygian Mode

A Phrygian Mode – Guitar

A minor scale with a flat 2nd: the dark, Spanish and metal sound. Here it is in A: the notes, the whole neck, all five boxes with TAB, and a backing track to practise over.

Notes in the A phrygian mode

Formula: 1 – b2 – b3 – 4 – 5 – b6 – b7. Use it to solo over songs in A minor, and over A blues and rock progressions.

A phrygian mode on the whole neck

EADGBe123456789101112131415EFGBbCDEFGBbCDEFGBbCDEFGBbCDEFGBbCDEFGBbCDEFGBbCDEFGBbCDEFG
A Phrygian Mode on the whole neck, frets 0-15. Gold = the root (A).
Embed this diagram on your site

Free for teachers and blogs. Copy this into your page:

The JamEase course map: chapter 1, Solo Foundations

Know the scale?
Now solo with it.

A guitar soloing course: 81 short lessons, each one ends with you jamming over a real backing track.

  • From 3 notes to your own solos
  • Every note on the neck, with sound and TAB
  • 379 backing tracks in every key
Learn to solo

The 5 boxes (positions) with TAB

Each box is one hand position. Learn Box 1 first: play it up with the TAB, then back down, then move to the next box – together they cover the whole neck.

Box 1 · frets 4–9

EADGBe456789BbCDEFGBbCDEEFGBbC
A Phrygian Mode, box 1
e|-------------------------------5-6-8-|
B|-------------------------5-6-8-------|
G|-------------------5-7-9-------------|
D|-------------5-7-8-------------------|
A|-------5-7-8-------------------------|
E|-5-6-8-------------------------------|

Box 2 · frets 6–11

EADGBe67891011BbCDEFGBbCDEFFGBbBbCD
A Phrygian Mode, box 2
e|-------------------------------------------------6--8--10-|
B|-------------------------------------6--8--10-11----------|
G|----------------------------7--9--10----------------------|
D|-------------------7--8--10-------------------------------|
A|----------7--8--10----------------------------------------|
E|-6--8--10-------------------------------------------------|

Box 3 · frets 8–14

EADGBe891011121314CDEFFGBbBbCDEEFGGBbCCDEF
A Phrygian Mode, box 3
e|-------------------------------------------------------------8--10-12-13-|
B|-------------------------------------------------8--10-11-13-------------|
G|-------------------------------------9--10-12-14-------------------------|
D|-------------------------8--10-12-14-------------------------------------|
A|-------------8--10-12-13-------------------------------------------------|
E|-8--10-12-13-------------------------------------------------------------|

Box 4 · frets 11–16

EADGBe111213141516EFGBbCDEFGBbBbCDEFG
A Phrygian Mode, box 4
e|----------------------------------------------12-13-15-|
B|-------------------------------------11-13-15----------|
G|----------------------------12-14-15-------------------|
D|-------------------12-14-15----------------------------|
A|----------12-13-15-------------------------------------|
E|-12-13-15----------------------------------------------|

Box 5 · frets 1–6

EADGBe123456EFGBbBbCDDEFGGBbCCDEFEFGBb
A Phrygian Mode, box 5
e|-----------------------------------1-3-5-6-|
B|---------------------------1-3-5-6---------|
G|---------------------2-3-5-----------------|
D|---------------2-3-5-----------------------|
A|---------1-3-5-----------------------------|
E|-1-3-5-6-----------------------------------|

3 A minor licks to play with it

Box 1 licks from the JamEase lick library, written for A minor (h = hammer-on, p = pull-off, / = slide, b = bend, ~ = vibrato).

Repeat with a twist

Picking · Rock

Say a little idea twice. The second time, change the ending.

e|-----------------|
B|-----5-------5-8-|
G|-5-7---7-5-7-----|
D|-----------------|
A|-----------------|
E|-----------------|

Pull-off ladder

Pull-off · Rock

Two notes a string, pulling off, all the way down to the home note.

e|-8p-5-----------------|
B|-------8p-5-----------|
G|-------------7p-5-----|
D|-------------------7--|
A|----------------------|
E|----------------------|

Bend, hold, fall

Bend · Vibrato · Soulful

Bend up, hold it, let it fall back, and walk down to the root.

e|---------------------|
B|-8br-5---------------|
G|---------7---5-------|
D|-----------------7~--|
A|---------------------|
E|---------------------|

A minor backing track

Play the boxes over this, starting and ending phrases on the gold root notes.

A Minor Blues Backing Track - Best Backing Jam Tracks - Slow Minor Blues 80 BPM A Minor Pentatonic – Backing Jam Tracks

Songs in A minor

These songs are in A minor, so this is a scale that fits for soloing over them:

All songs in A minor →

Other scales in A

Phrygian Mode in other keys

Put it to use: solo with it, step by step, starting with three notes.

Learn to solo

FAQ

What notes are in the A phrygian mode?

A, Bb, C, D, E, F, G. The formula is 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7.

Where do I start playing the A phrygian mode on guitar?

Start with Box 1, frets 4–9. The root note A is on the low E string at fret 5.