B Phrygian
The B Phrygian mode — B C D E F# G A — shown across the guitar neck.
Tap any note on the neck.
Swipe the neck sideways to see the higher frets.
B Phrygian is the natural minor with one note changed — the b2, C. That single note is what gives the mode its sound: lean on it and the colour is obvious. Leave it out and the melody alone could pass for plain minor — then it is the chords underneath that keep the mode.
What is B Phrygian?
B Phrygian is the seven notes B C D E F# G A — the notes of G major started from its 3rd degree, B. Same seven notes as the parent, but with B as home, so the intervals and the sound are different.
B Phrygian vs B natural minor
6 of the seven notes are the same. The difference is one note, and that is the whole character of the mode:
- b2 is C in Phrygian, where B natural minor has 2, C#.
Play B natural minor and B Phrygian back to back over a Bm chord and listen for C — that is the note to lean on.
Chords in B Phrygian
Stack the mode in thirds and each degree becomes a chord. The home chord is Bm; the rest are the chords of G major, since the notes are the same — what changes is which one the music rests on. Vamp between Bm and C and the mode is unmistakable.
B Phrygian on the guitar neck
Because B Phrygian is G major from its 3rd note, its natural fingering is position 3 of the seven three-notes-per-string shapes of G major — the shape whose lowest note is B. Learn that shape with B as home — start and end on it, over a drone on B or the vamp above — and you have the mode under your fingers. Play the same shape with G as home and you hear G major instead. The other six positions are the fingerings for the other six modes of the same key.
How to practice B Phrygian on guitar
- Loop position 3 of G major at 60 BPM, starting and ending on B so your ear hears B as home rather than G.
- Hold a Bm chord (or record one) and play the shape over it. Land on C on the strong beats — that is the sound of Phrygian.
- Hear it harmonized in 3rds on the Fretboard: press Play and every note sounds with its partner while the neck lights up.
The tool draws B Phrygian from its own root: the orange dots are on B and the degrees count from it. The notes are its parent key's, G major; to hear Phrygian, start and end on B.
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