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