E Phrygian
The half step that makes open E sound dark.
E Phrygian is E, F, G, A, B, C and D: the white keys from E to E. It is minor with a flat 2nd, and on a guitar that F sits one fret above the open low E, which is why so much metal and flamenco lives here.
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Minor, with one note pulled down
Phrygian is 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7. Compared with E natural minor, only the 2nd changes: F instead of F#. That half step right above the root is the whole flavor — it leans back down onto E every time you play it.
- E F G A B C D — no sharps, no flats.
- Same notes as C major, starting on E.
- The ♭2 (F) is the note that makes it Phrygian.
Open E, then one fret up
In E the open low E string is the root, and F is the 1st fret right next to it. Chug the open E and hit F, then G: E–F–G–F–E is the sound of half the heavy riffs ever written. Flamenco plays the same half step in chords, E–F–E, with an E major chord on top.
- Open low E is the root; F is the 1st fret beside it.
- E–F–E is the move to listen for.
- Raise the G to G# and you get E Phrygian Dominant.
Over a static Em, never a progression
Phrygian needs E to stay put: a droning open E, an Em or E5 vamp, or an E–F–E riff. Over a moving progression in C it just sounds like C major. In More Than Modes you can see every position of E Phrygian on the fretboard and play it over a backing track in E.
- Fits Em, E5 and an E–F vamp.
- The F major chord is the Phrygian giveaway.
- Keep the bass on E or the mode disappears.
E Phrygian is E natural minor with an F instead of F# — one fret above the open string, and the darkest sound a guitar gets for free.
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