Guitar scales › Phrygian Mode

E♭ Phrygian Mode – Guitar

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

Notes in the E♭ phrygian mode

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

E♭ phrygian mode on the whole neck

EADGBe123456789101112131415FbGbAbBbCbDbFbGbBbCbDbFbGbAbBbCbFbGbAbBbCbDbFbAbBbCbDbFbGbAbBbCbDbFbGbAbBbCbDbFbGbAbBbCbDbFbGb
Eb Phrygian Mode on the whole neck, frets 0-15. Gold = the root (Eb).
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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 10–15

EADGBe101112131415FbGbAbBbCbDbFbGbAbBbBbCbDbFbGb
Eb Phrygian Mode, box 1
e|----------------------------------------------11-12-14-|
B|-------------------------------------11-12-14----------|
G|----------------------------11-13-15-------------------|
D|-------------------11-13-14----------------------------|
A|----------11-13-14-------------------------------------|
E|-11-12-14----------------------------------------------|

Box 2 · frets 1–5

EADGBe12345FbGbAbBbCbDbFbGbAbBbCbCbDbFbFbGbAb
Eb Phrygian Mode, box 2
e|-----------------------------2-4-|
B|-----------------------2-4-5-----|
G|-----------------1-3-4-----------|
D|-----------1-2-4-----------------|
A|-----1-2-4-----------------------|
E|-2-4-----------------------------|

Box 3 · frets 2–8

EADGBe2345678GbAbBbCbCbDbFbFbGbAbBbBbCbDbDbFbGbGbAbBbCb
Eb Phrygian Mode, box 3
e|-----------------------------------------2-4-6-7-|
B|---------------------------------2-4-5-7---------|
G|-------------------------3-4-6-8-----------------|
D|-----------------2-4-6-8-------------------------|
A|---------2-4-6-7---------------------------------|
E|-2-4-6-7-----------------------------------------|

Box 4 · frets 5–10

EADGBe5678910BbCbDbFbGbAbBbCbDbFbFbGbAbBbCbDb
Eb Phrygian Mode, box 4
e|-------------------------------6-7-9-|
B|-------------------------5-7-9-------|
G|-------------------6-8-9-------------|
D|-------------6-8-9-------------------|
A|-------6-7-9-------------------------|
E|-6-7-9-------------------------------|

Box 5 · frets 7–12

EADGBe789101112CbDbFbFbGbAbBbCbDbFbGbGbAbBbCbCbDbFb
Eb Phrygian Mode, box 5
e|----------------------------------------------------7--9--11-12-|
B|----------------------------------------7--9--11-12-------------|
G|-------------------------------8--9--11-------------------------|
D|----------------------8--9--11----------------------------------|
A|-------------7--9--11-------------------------------------------|
E|-7--9--11-12----------------------------------------------------|

3 E♭ minor licks to play with it

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

Root bounce

Picking · Blues

Hop off the root and back to it. Simple, and it fits almost any blues or rock track.

e|----------------|
B|----------------|
G|----11----------|
D|-13----13-11-13-|
A|----------------|
E|----------------|

Rock and roll repeat

Pull-off · Rock

The top-string triplet loop half the rock solos ever played use.

e|-14p-11------14p-11------14p-11------11--|
B|---------14----------14----------14------|
G|-----------------------------------------|
D|-----------------------------------------|
A|-----------------------------------------|
E|-----------------------------------------|

Blues curl

Bend · Vibrato · Blues

Nudge the minor third up a half step. That sour-sweet note is the blues.

e|----------------|
B|----------------|
G|-11b½-11--------|
D|-----------13~--|
A|----------------|
E|----------------|

E♭ minor backing track

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

D# Minor Rock Guitar Backing Track (153 bpm) – Sweet Jam Tracks

Songs in E♭ minor

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

All songs in E♭ minor →

Other scales in E♭

Phrygian Mode in other keys

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

FAQ

What notes are in the Eb phrygian mode?

Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db. The formula is 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7.

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

Start with Box 1, frets 10–15. The root note Eb is on the low E string at fret 11.