Psychology of the Phrygian Mode

The notes of the Phrygian mode go from E to E.

Or in the key of C, a Phrygian scale would be C,Db,Eb,F,G,Ab,Bb,C.

Examples of pieces in the Phrygian mode are Bach's "Es woll uns Gott genädig sein", Bruckner's Vexilla regis, Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No.2, Rimsky Korsakov's Scheherezade, and some monastic hymns and ancient Greek music.

The character of this mode is highly unusual compared to the major scale. It is associated with Spanish flamenco music, Hungary, and Egypt, having a very Eastern sound. This mode resembles somewhat the natural minor scale, except for its second scale degree, which is flat in the Phrygian but not the minor scale.

For writing music that is evocative of fascinating, moody, perhaps even scary locales, it's hard to do better than the Phyrgian mode. There are certain scales that are similar to it and have properties in common, but they are quite rare. These include the Hungarian minor and harmonic minor scales. In contrast, you should probably leave happy, simple, or lighthearted music to Major and Lydian modes.

Generally, this mode does not seem very popular currently except for in metal and in a few small genres. I can't think of something in it that has influenced pop culture in the way the Lydian introduction of "The Simpsons" has.

I used to really love the Phrygian mode and almost every scale that sounds similar to it. Now, I have become a bit lighter in my taste, but that doesn't change the fact that this mode is very ripe for opportunities in storytelling and building harmonic and melodic tension.

Improvising in the Phrygian mode brings out its sad, brooding quality to me.
I've seen guitar improv in it, where it is much louder and more extreme sounding, but I prefer to dwell more on the lonesome character of it. For sheer harmonic tension I would probably go with harmonic minor instead. There is a similarity between the Locrian and Phrygian modes in this way, as I find Locrian to be an even more extreme example than Phrygian, but they share a similar basic character.




What do you think of the Phrygian mode?
Have you improvised in it?
Have a great day!
Azure

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