Phrygian Mode

The third mode of the major scale is called the phrygian mode. In the key of C, a phrygian scale is built on E, and consists of "E, F, G, A, B, C, D". This scale, like the dorian mode, is also similar to the minor scale, except that the second step in the phrygian mode is lowered by a half step. That is, an E minor scale would have an F# while the phrygian has an F. If you try playing the phrygian scale over a minor seventh chord, you will probably find it more dissonant than the minor scale, because of the lowered second. The phrygian mode is used occasionally over a minor seventh chord, although often the chord is written as m7b9 as a hint to the improviser that the phrygian scale is to be used. There are certain other situations in which the phrygian scale sounds good. One is over a dominant seventh chord with a suspended fourth (see mixolydian mode, below) and a lowered ninth, notated susb9. Another is over a particular chord that I will simply call a phrygian chord. A phrygian chord in E would be "E F A B D". When the phrygian mode is played over this type of chord, the result is a somewhat Spanish sound, particularly if you add a G# to the scale, yielding what is sometimes called the Spanish phrygian scale. Several Chick Corea tunes, including "La Fiesta", and much of the music from Miles Davis' Sketches Of Spain feature this sound extensively.