Phrygian dominant scale

D Phrygian dominant scale.  Play 

In music, the Phrygian dominant scale is the fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale, the fifth being the dominant.[1] Also called the altered Phrygian scale, harmonic minor perfect fifth below, dominant flat 2 flat 6 (in jazz), the Freygish scale (also spelled Fraigish[2]), or simply the fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale. It resembles the scale of the Phrygian mode but has a major third. In the Berklee College of Music theory system, it is known as the Mixolydian b9 b13 chord scale, a Mixolydian scale with a lowered 9th (2nd) and lowered 13th (6th), used in secondary dominant chord scales for V7/III and V7/VI.

Traditional use

This scale occurs in Indian, Middle Eastern, Eastern European and Flamenco music. It is common in Arabic and Egyptian music, in which it is known as Hijaz-Nahawand or Bayati maqam,[3] and used in Hebrew prayers and Klezmer music, where it is known as Ahava Rabbah, Freygish or just the "Jewish scale", and is called Dastgāh-e Homāyoun in Iran. It is the scale used in the North Indian classical raga Vasant Mukhari and the South Indian raga Vakulabharanam.[4]

It is sometimes called the "Spanish Phrygian scale", "Spanish gypsy scale" (see: gypsy scale) or "Phrygian major scale" (see: phrygian mode and major scale) and is common in Flamenco music.[5] The flattened second and the augmented step between the second and third degrees of the scale create its distinctive sound. Examples include some versions of "Hava Nagila"[1] and "Misirlou", while other versions of those melodies use the closely related "double harmonic scale".[2] The main chords derived from this scale are I, iv, and vii.[2]

Composition

The sequence of steps forming the Phrygian dominant scale is:

When related to the scale degrees of the major scale, it reads:

1 - ♭2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - ♭6 - ♭7 - 1

Written in semitones, the sequence is:

1312122

Beginning on C, the scale is: C - D♭ - E - F - G - A♭ - B♭ - C

C Phrygian dominant scale, the fifth mode of F harmonic minor  Play .

When the Freygish scale is used in Klezmer music, the sixth degree may not be flattened if it is melodically approached and left from above.[6]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Dave Hunter (2005). Play Acoustic, San Francisco: Backbeat, p. 226. ISBN 978-0-87930-853-7.
  2. 1 2 3 Dick Weissman, Dan Fox (2009). A Guide to Non-Jazz Improvisation, guitar edition, Pacific, MO: Mel Bay, p. 130. ISBN 978-0-7866-0751-8.
  3. ↑ Peter Manuel (2006). Michael Tenzer, ed. Analytical Studies in World Music. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 96.
  4. ↑ http://swaratala.blogspot.com/2007/05/raga-basant-mukhari-carnatic-raga.html
  5. ↑ Scott Jarrett, Holly Day (2008). Music Composition for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. p. 61. ISBN 0-470-22421-5.
  6. ↑ Ilana Cravitz (January 2004) Klezmer - Modes and Scales", ManchesterKlezmer.org at archive.org (Accessed 23 November 2014).

Further reading

External links

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