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Guitar scale · Spanish Phrygian

Ab Phrygian Dominant Scale

5th mode of Harmonic Minor. Mesmerizing oriental and flamenco solos for rock and metal.

Notes AbACDbEbFbGb
Formula 1 ♭2 3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7
Steps H W+H H W H W W
Mood Oriental, Flamenco, Powerful
Heard in Flamenco, Progressive Metal, Symphonic Rock

Interactive scale diagram

Ab Phrygian Dominant Scale · Standard tuning

STR OP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 E A D G B E

Tap any note to hear it.

Ab Phrygian Dominant Scale tab: all 5 positions

Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.

Position 1 · E shape frets 4–8 
e|-----------------------------4-5-8-|
B|-------------------------5-7-------|
G|-------------------5-6-8-----------|
D|-------------4-6-7-----------------|
A|-------4-6-7-----------------------|
E|-4-5-8-----------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 6–10 
e|-------------------------------8-9-|
B|------------------------7-9-10-----|
G|------------------6-8-9------------|
D|-----------6-7-10------------------|
A|-----6-7-9-------------------------|
E|-8-9-------------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 8–12 
e|-------------------------------------8-9-11-12-|
B|--------------------------------9-10-----------|
G|-------------------------8-9-11----------------|
D|-------------------10-11-----------------------|
A|-----------9-11-12-----------------------------|
E|-8-9-11-12-------------------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 11–15 
e|-------------------------------------------11-12-14-|
B|-------------------------------------13-14----------|
G|----------------------------11-13-14----------------|
D|-------------------11-13-14-------------------------|
A|----------11-12-15----------------------------------|
E|-11-12-14-------------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 13–17 
e|-------------------------------------------14-16-17-|
B|----------------------------------14-16-17----------|
G|-------------------------13-14-17-------------------|
D|----------------13-14-16----------------------------|
A|----------15-16-------------------------------------|
E|-14-16-17-------------------------------------------|

How to play Ab Phrygian Dominant on guitar

Find the root first: Ab is at fret 4 on the low E string and fret 11 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Ab on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (3, 5, ♭7), the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.

Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 4–8. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.

Ab Phrygian Dominant is also written G# Phrygian Dominant: G# A B# C# D# E F#. The frets are the same; under that name every note keeps its own letter, with no double sharps or flats.

Degrees

DegreeNote
1 Ab
♭2 A
3 C
4 Db
5 Eb
♭6 Fb
♭7 Gb

Chords in Ab Phrygian Dominant

Stack every other note of the scale and you get these seven chords. They are the chords that sound "at home" in Ab Phrygian Dominant; tap one to see its shapes.

Degree Chord 7th chord Function
I Ab Ab7 Tonic
♭II A Amaj7 Supertonic
iii° Cdim Cdim7 Mediant
iv Dbm Dbm(maj7) Subdominant
v° Ebdim Ebm7b5 Dominant
♭VI+ Fbaug Fbmaj7#5 Submediant
♭vii Gbm Gbm7 Leading tone / subtonic

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Questions

What notes are in the Ab Phrygian Dominant Scale?
The Ab Phrygian Dominant Scale has 7 notes: Ab, A, C, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb.
What chords are in the Ab Phrygian Dominant Scale?
The chords of Ab Phrygian Dominant are Ab (I), A (♭II), Cdim (iii°), Dbm (iv), Ebdim (v°), Fbaug (♭VI+), Gbm (♭vii).
What is the formula of the phrygian dominant scale?
1 ♭2 3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7, which is the step pattern H W+H H W H W W (W = whole step, H = half step).
Where do I play Ab Phrygian Dominant on the guitar?
The root Ab is at fret 4 on the low E string and fret 11 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 4–8, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Phrygian Dominant Scale in every key

C C# D Eb E F F# G Ab A Bb B

More scales in Ab

Ab Major Ab Minor Ab Minor Pentatonic Ab Major Pentatonic Ab Blues Ab Major Blues Ab Dorian Ab Phrygian Ab Lydian Ab Mixolydian Ab Locrian Ab Harmonic Minor Ab Melodic Minor Ab Lydian Dominant Ab Lydian Augmented Ab Altered Ab Whole Tone Ab Half-Whole Diminished Ab Whole-Half Diminished Ab Bebop Dominant Ab Hungarian Minor Ab Dorian b2 Ab Mixolydian b6 Ab Locrian Natural 2 Ab Locrian Natural 6 Ab Ionian #5 Ab Ukrainian Dorian Ab Lydian #2 Ab Ultralocrian Ab Harmonic Major Ab Dorian b5 Ab Lydian b3 Ab Double Harmonic Major Ab Oriental Ab Neapolitan Minor Ab Neapolitan Major Ab Augmented Ab Bebop Major Ab Bebop Dorian Ab Yo Ab Hirajoshi Ab In Ab In Sen Ab Iwato Ab Phrygian b4 Ab Mixolydian b2 Ab Lydian Augmented #2 Ab Locrian bb7 Ab Lydian #2 #6 Ab Ultraphrygian Ab Ionian Augmented #2 Ab Locrian bb3 bb7 Ab Leading Whole Tone Ab Major Locrian Ab Lydian Dominant b6 Ab Hungarian Major Ab Persian Ab Enigmatic Ab Prometheus Ab Tritone Ab Bebop Melodic Minor Ab Bebop Harmonic Minor Ab Egyptian Pentatonic Ab Man Gong