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