So I am going to show you how to play a Phrygian mode, and the Phrygian mode is really great mode because it's got like really, really scary kind of sounds to it. Danny Elfman uses a lot, he is Tim Burton's composer, and it's great mode because a lot of jazz musicians would use it and improvise with it, and primarily it's a great mode to use in heavy metal and they use a lot in heavy metal. So if you are a metalhead and you like heavy metal music and like playing heavy metal music then you are going to love this mode.
So we are going to do three things in this video. The first is, I am going to show you how to construct the Phrygian mode out of the major scale. Then, I am going to show you an example of the Phrygian mode played fluidly, and then the final example will be an actual example of how you might use it in a heavy metal composition as a demonstration.
So the tablature of this mode is on guitarticles.blogspot.com as usual. So just in case you can't pick it up visually from the video, you might want to have it and check that out. So let's get started.
Okay. So we are going to do this one out which is the fifth fret on the low E string and if we were to construct it out of the A major scale which is the key to the mode as that it goes half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step and then whole step, whole step. And another way of translating this is that it has a second, a third, the sixth and the seventh notes are flatted.
So what that means is you can build a straight out of a major scale, and all you have to remember is to flat the second, third, sixth and seventh note, and I will show you it's like this. So if you have -- which is the first part of the major scale, you thought the second note which is -- So if that's flatted, it's now here, so you have. Third note originally was that, but it's flatted too which means that it's here. So the first part is instead of playing this, we are now playing this. So that is fifth fret, sixth fret, eight fret.
Then the next part would normally be in the major scale on the D string, but again, this note stays the same, and this note stays the same, but the sixth note is flatted, so it goes to there. So instead of -- we now have. So altogether, you have fifth fret, sixth fret, eight fret, fifth fret, sixth fret -- I am sorry, fifth fret, seventh fret, eight fret okay?
So now, the next part would normally be in the major scale. But the seventh note is flatted which is this one. So it's now here, and then there is your conclusive note which is A as well. So altogether, you have fifth fret, sixth fret, eight fret, fifth fret seventh fret, eight fret, fifth fret, seventh fret. And then it just repeats to go two octaves across all the strings like this.
So using the same formula. So when you get to here, which is your conclusive note, your A, you just repeat that using second fret as a flat, third flat, sixth flat and seventh flat. So here it is altogether.
Relatively simple, again, if you need to look at the tablature, go right head because it is at guitarticles.blogspot.com. Now, I will show you an example of how you might use this in a heavy metal song.
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