B♭ phrygian dominant scale on 6-string bass

B♭ · C♭ · D · E♭ · F · G♭ · A♭

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 24 · Modes.

The notes

  1. B♭1
  2. C♭♭2
  3. D3
  4. E♭4
  5. F5
  6. G♭♭6
  7. A♭♭7

The B♭ phrygian dominant scale is B♭, C♭, D, E♭, F, G♭, A♭.

You may also see it called Spanish · Freygish · 1 ♭2 3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7.

On the staff

B♭C♭DE♭FG♭A♭B♭

On a bass staff, the B♭ phrygian dominant scale is written B♭ C♭ D E♭ F G♭ A♭.

This is one octave of the B♭ phrygian dominant scale, written on the bass clef. Guitar and bass music is written an octave higher than it sounds, and the small 8 under the clef is the sign for that.

Why the B♭ phrygian dominant scale has these flats

  1. B♭1
  2. S
  3. C♭♭2
  4. T+S
  5. D3
  6. S
  7. E♭4
  8. T
  9. F5
  10. S
  11. G♭♭6
  12. T
  13. A♭♭7
  14. T
  15. B♭8

A scale is a pattern of steps, and this one is S T+S S T S T T: a semitone, a tone and a half, a semitone, and so on. S stands for a semitone, the distance of one fret or one key. T stands for a tone, which is two semitones. T+S stands for a tone and a half, which is three semitones. The pattern is what gives B♭ phrygian dominant its sound, and it stays the same whichever note you start on.

The second rule is that a seven-note scale uses each letter name once, from A to G, so its seven notes take seven different letters. That is why B♭ phrygian dominant is spelled the way it is, rather than with whichever accidental looks tidier.

Together, the two rules leave no room for choice. If you walk the pattern up from B♭, four letters cannot keep up:

  • C♭ — the flat second. The pattern needs a semitone from B♭, but B♭ to C is only a tone, so C has to fall to C♭.
  • E♭ — the fourth. The pattern needs a semitone from D, but D to E is only a tone, so E has to fall to E♭.
  • G♭ — the flat sixth. The pattern needs a semitone from F, but F to G is only a tone, so G has to fall to G♭.
  • A♭ — the flat seventh. The pattern needs a tone from G♭, but G♭ to A is only a tone and a half, so A has to fall to A♭.

None of those accidentals was a choice. Once you pick the note to start on, the pattern decides the rest, and a key signature is a record of the result.

The B♭ phrygian dominant scale is written with B♭, C♭, E♭, G♭ and A♭. B♭ has its accidental because that is the key, and the other notes need theirs because the S T+S S T S T T pattern of steps cannot be spelled from B♭ with plain letters.

The pattern of steps is the part of a scale that never changes. The letter names take sharps or flats to fit that pattern, and a key signature is a record of those sharps or flats.

On the piano

C3DE5FGA♭2C♭C3DE5FGA♭2C♭C3DE5FGA♭2C♭C3DE5FGA♭2C♭C3DE5FGA♭2C♭CC♯4E♭♭6G♭♭7A♭1B♭C♯4E♭♭6G♭♭7A♭1B♭C♯4E♭♭6G♭♭7A♭1B♭C♯4E♭♭6G♭♭7A♭1B♭C♯4E♭♭6G♭♭7A♭1B♭C0C1C2C3C4C5

The keyboard shows the same seven notes as a shape you can see. The coloured keys are the B♭ phrygian dominant scale, and you can click any key to hear it.

B♭ phrygian dominant scale on the whole neck

BEADGC123456789101112131415C♭♭2D3E♭4F5G♭♭6A♭♭7B♭1C♭♭2D3F5G♭♭6A♭♭7B♭1C♭♭2D3E♭4F5G♭♭6B♭1C♭♭2D3E♭4F5G♭♭6A♭♭7B♭1C♭♭2D3E♭4F5G♭♭6A♭♭7B♭1C♭♭2D3E♭4F5A♭♭7B♭1C♭♭2D3E♭4F5G♭♭6A♭♭7B♭1D3E♭4F5G♭♭6A♭♭7B♭1C♭♭2D3E♭4

86 notes of the B♭ phrygian dominant scale are marked across six strings.

This is every place the notes of the B♭ phrygian dominant scale fall on the 6-string bass, with each note's name and its scale degree. The roots are marked so you can find your bearings.

Position by position

Position 1 — starts on the 3
BEADGC345678345♭6♭71♭2345♭6♭71♭2345♭6
Position 2 — starts on the 4
BEADGC45678945♭6♭71♭2345♭6♭71♭2345♭6♭7
Position 3 — starts on the 5
BEADGC678910115♭6♭71♭2345♭6♭71♭2345♭6♭71
Position 4 — starts on the ♭6
BEADGC789101112♭6♭71♭2345♭6♭71♭2345♭6♭71♭2
Position 5 — starts on the ♭7
BEADGC91011121314♭71♭2345♭6♭71♭2345♭6♭71♭2
Position 6 — starts on the 1
BEADGC1112131415161♭2345♭6♭71♭2345♭6♭71♭234
Position 7 — starts on the ♭2
BEADGC121314151617♭2345♭6♭71♭2345♭6♭71♭234

The B♭ phrygian dominant scale has seven playable positions, at frets 3–7, 4–8, 6–10, 7–11, 9–13, 11–15 and 12–16.

Each shape starts on a different degree of the scale and fits inside five frets, so your hand can play all of it without moving.

One climb up the neck

BEADGC111213141516171819202122231♭2345♭6♭71♭2345♭6♭71♭2345♭6♭71TAB11121516131416181417181516182016192017182022

The climb runs from fret 11 to fret 22 and plays 22 notes.

This is one path from the lowest root to the top of the neck, and it plays each note once, never on two strings. It takes a different number of notes on different strings. The widest stretch on any one string is five frets.