Phrygian Dominant: The Most Hauntingly Beautiful Scale

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LESSON SUMMARY
If you’re a jazz lover, then you probably know what it’s like to be enchanted by a particular melodic or harmonic sound. It can happen at a live performance or while listening to a favorite recording. Either way, some harmonic sounds just have a way of lingering in your ears with their exquisite beauty. Such is the sound of the Phrygian Dominant Scale. In today’s Quick Tip, The Phrygian Dominant Scale—The Complete Guide, John Proulx unpacks this exotic and hauntingly beautiful improv scale.

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► Scales for Improv on 7th Chords:

Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:42 - What is the Phrygian mode?
01:14 - Phrygian Dominant Scale
02:49 - Technique: Resolving the Phrygian Dominant Scale
06:00 - 3 Improv Techniques
06:33 - 1. Scale Clusters (Beginner)
08:22 - Play with Backing Track
10:08 - 2. Turns (Intermediate)
12:18 - Play with Backing Track
14:28 - 3. Triad Pairs (Advanced)
17:37 - Play with Backing Track
20:24 - Conclusion
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Happy practicing!
Jonny May

[PianoWithJonny]

00:00 - Intro
00:42 - What is the Phrygian mode?
01:14 - Phrygian Dominant Scale
02:49 - Technique: Resolving the Phrygian Dominant Scale
06:00 - 3 Improv Techniques
06:33 - 1. Scale Clusters (Beginner)
08:22 - Play with Backing Track
10:08 - 2. Turns (Intermediate)
12:18 - Play with Backing Track
14:28 - 3. Triad Pairs (Advanced)
17:37 - Play with Backing Track
20:24 - Conclusion

[MorisoniProductions]

Just a comment of appreciation for all the care and thoroughness that obviously goes into these lessons. They are so well constructed and paced that they push you without any force to get better. Meanwhile enjoying every step along the way. Thank you!

[limlim]

This was terrific. I especially liked the advanced left hand accompaniment, with its more Latin/Arabic flavor. I added it to all three right-hand riffs (triads, clusters, and turns), and it takes them to another level.
Thank you ❤

[drgruber]

I always thought the harmonic minor scale sounded middle eastern. After watching this video I sat at the piano and realized that the phrygian dominant scale is the harmonic minor, but starting on the 5th degree of it. 😮

[Sannahmusic]

I love this scale! Thank you for this informational video, I really enjoyed it! 🎶🙏🙏

[polarblade]

My favoirite scale!!! I'm officially addicted to b9 scales

[nicholaslloyd]

Wonderful! 'The Feeling Begins' from the soundtrack of the film Passion by Peter Gabriel. Played on a duduk it's C phrygian dominant.

[trickerknicker]

Awesome scale for noodling 😊. Thanks so much

[lawrencetaylor]

Sounds great but it's out of my pay grade. I have to get my chops and then I'll come back to this since it sounds beautiful.

[kewsepehr]

Excellent!!!
The only confusing part was with the rhythm, as i, for one, found it difficult to repeat after you 😒

[phoenixchiron]

Was a little confused on the cluster progression, why drop to the "D" instead of the "Db" on the third chord when the "Db is in the Phrygian Dom scale? I understand its semitone downward movement, but that's where I get confused, as when an out of scale note is OK, when we are taking about a distinct Phrygian Dom scale. thx!

[toechop]

Can you please tell us how you display the notes on your video, is that a software program?

[ettorehelton]

Is " e lucevan le stelle" Tosca Giacomo Puccini a Phrygian scale??

[rawshoe]

I'm trying to understand this old Macedonian song "Jovano, Jovanke", interested mostly in the version by Miroslav Tadic and Vlatko Stefanovski, is this what is happening in that song or is it just harmonic minor?
That Jewish song example sounds a lot like it but I'm not sure.

[ptose]

1:19 I'm not sure I got the way you went from the normal phryigian to phrigian dominant. I mean I see you're playing a E instead of E flat but why

[namenlos]

Why don't you just call it a minor harmonic scale.