Phrygian dominant scale

In music, the Phrygian dominant scale is the fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale, the fifth being the dominant.Dave Hunter (2005). ''Play Acoustic'', San Francisco: Backbeat, p. 226. . Also called the persian scale, altered Phrygian scale, dominant flat 2 flat 6 (in jazz), the Freygish scale (also spelled FraigishDick Weissman, Dan Fox (2009). ''A Guide to Non-Jazz Improvisation'', guitar edition, Pacific, Missouri: Mel Bay, p. 130. .), harmonic dominant, 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 method, it is known as the Mixolydian 9 13 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.

Bebop jazz pianist Barry Harris added a note to the scale and describes it as: For ii V in F minor (G-7b5 C7b9), play down from the 7th of the Eb7 dominant scale (Mixolydian) to E the 3rd of C7”. Harris nicknamed this eight tone scale “the minor’s five”. He considered it to be the ideal melodic trajectory to react from when improvising a line over ii V in minor. Being eight tones it has the advantage of placing the chord tones on the beats which enables a melody to reinforce the underlying harmony. It also eliminates the harsh augmented 2nd melodic interval found between the b6 and 7th tone 5th in a harmonic minor scale. Another advantage is that gives improvisers access to their often more familiar dominant scale (Mixolydian) vocabulary. Barry Harris further recognized that its descending form has an especially melodic quality rather than being played up from its root. Harris said he had noticed this ideal descending permutation being played many times by Charlie Parker on such tunes as “What Is This Thing Called Love?” with its G-7b5 C7b9 chords.

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Traditional use

This scale occurs in Indian, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, Central Asian, and flamenco music. It is common in Arabic and Egyptian music, in which it is called ''Hijaz-Nahawand'' or ''Hijaz maqam'', 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 most common scale in North Indian classical raga ''Hijaz Bhairav (Basant Mukhari)'' and South Indian raga ''Vakulabharanam''.

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. It can also be found in traditional Spanish songs outside flamenco, everywhere in Spain to varying amounts, but especially in southern and central areas of the country, often being also known as ''escala andaluza'' (''Andalusian scale'') in Spanish. Related scales in Spanish traditional music with chromatic notes in the second degree, varying between a semitone and a tone, are also known as "gama española" ("Spanish gamut") or "gama de Castilla y León" (gamut of Castile and León) and, though found all over Spain, are particularly common in Castilian and Leonese traditional songs.

The flatted 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" and "Misirlou", while other versions of those melodies use the closely related "double harmonic scale". The main chords derived from this scale are I, bII, iv, and vii.

Composition

The sequence of steps forming the Phrygian dominant scale is:
*half – augmented second – half – whole – half – whole – whole

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

When the Freygish scale is used in Klezmer music, the sixth degree may be left unflatted if it is melodically approached and left from above,Ilana Cravitz (January 2004
Klezmer – Modes and Scales
, ''ManchesterKlezmer.org'' at archive.org (Accessed 23 November 2014). or the seventh degree may be raised as well.

Phrygian Dominant 7 scale and Phrygian Major Lydian 7 scale

This is the 5th mode of the Harmonic Minor 4 scale. It goes like this:C Db E F G Ab Bbb. Chords that may be derived from the Phrygian Dominant 7 scale based on C are C6, Db, Bbb7, Fm, F, Bbbm, G7sus2b5, Abaug, and Bbbaug. The other scale is the 3rd mode of the Scala Enigmatica Descending scale. It goes like this:C Db E F# G Ab Bbb. Chords that may be derived from the Phrygian Major Lydian 7 scale based on C are C6, Dbsus4, Bbb7, F#7sus2b5, F#m7b5, Bbbm, Bbb, F#m7, Gmaj7sus2b5, and Abaug.

Phrygian Major Lydian scale

This is the 4th mode of the Neapolitan major 5 scale. It goes like this:C Db E F# G Ab Bb. Chords that may be derived from the Phrygian Major Lydian scale based on C are C7, Dbsus4, Edim7, F#7sus2b5, GmM7b5, F#7b5, Abaug, F#7, Bbm7b5, and Abaug.

See also

*Minor gypsy scale
*Hungarian minor scale
* Ukrainian Dorian scale
* Flamenco mode
*Misheberak scale
* Mixolydian mode#Moloch scale
*Neapolitan chord

Notes

Further reading

*Hewitt, Michael. ''Musical Scales of the World''. The Note Tree. 2013. .

{{scales

Flamenco
Heptatonic scales
Hemitonic scales
Tritonic scales
Musical scales with augmented seconds