The following content is related to the November 2013 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now, or in our online store.
Last month we investigated the dark sound of the Phrygian mode, which is spelled intervallically 1 f2 f3 4 5 f6 f7. In the key of E, the notes would be E F G A B C D. Four of the Phrygian mode’s seven scale degrees—the second, third, sixth and seventh—are minor, or “flatted,” intervals, which is what gives Phrygian such a foreboding, “evil” sound, one that is perfectly suited to heavy metal music.
Once you are well familiarized with the Phrygian mode, it’s fairly easy to learn its “evil sister,” the Phrygian-dominant mode. To morph from Phrygian to Phrygian-dominant, only one note needs to change: the minor, or flatted, third (G in the key of E) is raised one half step to a major third (Gs in this case), resulting in the intervallic spelling 1 f2 3 4 5 f6 f7.
In the key of E, this translates to E F Gs A B C D. FIGURE 1 illustrates E Phrygian-dominant played in first position, with open strings used wherever possible.
