Phrygian Mode
Well, when I started this project, I didn’t expect to be bandying words around like ‘Phrygian’ and I remain reluctant to do so as this is just the sort of obscure terminology to put anyone off musical theory.
However. At least in its ‘Dominant’ variety, this is a nice sounding scale, used widely in Eastern European, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Indian music, as well as Flamenco. In fact, it is sometimes called the Spanish Gypsy scale. You’ll find classical examples as well, including Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and Rimsky Korsakov’s Scheherazade.
This is what it looks like in C:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| C | Db | D | Eb | E | F | Gb | G | Ab | A | Bb | B |
This short improvisation in the key of E major, played on a Martin C000 nylon string guitar, gives an idea of what the scale sounds like:
The next example is pure electronica but the scale comes through clearly above the simple G-G# chord changes …
Instruments on On Our Way to England:
Synth lead 1: Plex – discontinued
Synth lead 2: Massive X from Native Instruments
Rhythmic synths: XPhraze – discontinued
Bass synth: Substance from Native Instruments
Choir: Insolidus from 8Dio