Phrygian mode#Ancient Greek Phrygian mode

The octave species (scale) underlying the ancient-Greek Phrygian tonos (in its diatonic genus) corresponds to the medieval and modern Dorian mode. The terminology is based on the Elements by Aristoxenos (fl. {{circa|335 {{sc|BCE}} }}), a disciple of Aristotle. The Phrygian tonos or harmonia is named after the ancient kingdom of Phrygia in Anatolia.

In Greek music theory, the harmonia given this name was based on a tonos, in turn based on a scale or octave species built from a tetrachord which, in its diatonic genus, consisted of a series of rising intervals of a whole tone, followed by a semitone, followed by a whole tone.

: {

\key e \dorian

\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f

\relative c' {

\clef treble \time 4/4

e4^\markup { Greek Phrygian tonos (diatonic genus) on E } fis g a b cis d e

} }

In the chromatic genus, this is a minor third followed by two semitones.

: {

\key e \major

\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f

\relative c' {

\clef treble \time 4/4

e4^\markup { Greek Phrygian tonos (chromatic genus) on E } fisis gis a c cisis dis e

} }

In the enharmonic genus, it is a major third and two quarter tones.

: {

\key e \major

\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f

\relative c' {

\clef treble \time 4/4

e4^\markup { Greek Phrygian tonos (enharmonic genus) on E } gis gisih a b dis disih e

} }

A diatonic-genus octave species built upon D is roughly equivalent to playing all the white notes on a piano keyboard from D to D:

: {

\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f

\relative c' {

\clef treble \time 4/4

d4 e f g a b c d

} }

This scale, combined with a set of characteristic melodic behaviours and associated ethe, constituted the harmonia which was given the ethnic name "Phrygian", after the "unbounded, ecstatic peoples of the wild, mountainous regions of the Anatolian highlands".{{sfnp|Solomon|1984|p=249}} This ethnic name was also confusingly applied by theorists such as Cleonides to one of thirteen chromatic transposition levels, regardless of the intervallic makeup of the scale.{{sfnp|Solomon|1984|pp=244–246}}

Since the Renaissance, music theorists have called this same sequence (on a diatonic scale) the "Dorian" mode, due to a mistake interpreting Greek (it is different from the Greek mode called "Dorian").

The early Catholic Church developed a system of eight musical modes that medieval music scholars gave names drawn from the ones used to describe the ancient Greek harmoniai. The name "Phrygian" was applied to the third of these eight church modes, the authentic mode on E, described as the diatonic octave extending from E to the E an octave higher and divided at B, therefore beginning with a semitone-tone-tone-tone pentachord, followed by a semitone-tone-tone tetrachord:{{r|Grove2001_Phrygian}}

: {

\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f

\relative c' {

\clef treble \time 5/4

e4 f g a b

\time 4/4

\parenthesize b c d e

} }

The ambitus of this mode extended one tone lower, to D. The sixth degree, C, which is the tenor of the corresponding third psalm tone, was regarded by most theorists as the most important note after the final, though the fifteenth-century theorist Johannes Tinctoris implied that the fourth degree, A, could be so regarded instead.{{r|Grove2001_Phrygian}}

Placing the two tetrachords together, and the single tone at bottom of the scale produces the Hypophrygian mode (below Phrygian):

: {

\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f

\relative c'' {

\clef treble \time 1/4

g4

\time 4/4

a b c d \parenthesize d e f g

} }

In modern western music (from the 18th century onward), the Phrygian mode is related to the modern natural minor scale, also known as the Aeolian mode, but with the second scale degree lowered by a semitone, making it a minor second above the tonic, rather than a major second.

: {

\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f

\relative c' {

\clef treble \time 7/4

e4^\markup { Modern E Phrygian mode } f g a b c d e2

} }

The following is the Phrygian mode starting on E, or E Phrygian, with corresponding tonal scale degrees illustrating how the modern major mode and natural minor mode can be altered to produce the Phrygian mode:

:

Therefore, the Phrygian mode consists of: root, minor second, minor third, perfect fourth, perfect fifth, minor sixth, minor seventh, and octave. Alternatively, it can be written as the pattern

: half, whole, whole, whole, half, whole, whole

In contemporary jazz, the Phrygian mode is used over chords and sonorities built on the mode, such as the sus4({{music|flat}}9) chord (see Suspended chord), which is sometimes called a Phrygian suspended chord. For example, a soloist might play an E Phrygian over an Esus4({{music|flat}}9) chord (E–A–B–D–F).

A Phrygian dominant scale is produced by raising the third scale degree of the mode:

:

The Phrygian dominant is also known as the Spanish gypsy scale, because it resembles the scales found in flamenco and also the Berber rhythms;{{r|Thomas_Academia}} it is the fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale. Flamenco music uses the Phrygian scale together with a modified scale from the Arab maqām Ḥijāzī{{r|ModalInFlamencoWeb|Grove2001_Flamenco}} (like the Phrygian dominant but with a major sixth scale degree),{{Citation needed|date=March 2020|reason=Katz does not include this description}} and a bimodal configuration using both major and minor second and third scale degrees.{{r|Grove2001_Flamenco}}

File:Respighi Trittico Botticelliano.png's Trittico Botticelliano (Botticelli Triptych, 1927){{r|BenwardSaker2009_244}} {{audio|Respighi Trittico Botticelliano.mid|Play}}]]

• The First Delphic Hymn, written in 128 BC by the Athenian composer Limenius, is in the Phrygian and Hyperphrygian tonoi, with much variation.{{r|PöhlmannWest2001_73}}
• The Seikilos epitaph (1st century AD) is in the Phrygian species (diatonic genus), in the Iastian (or low Phrygian) transposition.{{sfn|Solomon|1986|loc=pp. 459, 461n14, 470}}

• Gregorian chant, Tristes erant apostoli, version in the Vesperale Romanum, originally Ambrosian chant.{{r|Otten1907}}
• The Roman chant variant of the Requiem introit "Rogamus te" is in the (authentic) Phrygian mode, or 3rd tone.{{r|Grove2001_RequiemMass}}
• Orlando di Lasso's (d. 1594) motet In me transierunt.{{sfn|Pesic|2005|loc=passim}}
• Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina's (d. 1594) motet Congratulamini mihi.{{sfn|Carver|2005|p=77}}

• Johann Sebastian Bach keeps in his cantatas the Phrygian mode of some original chorale melodies, such as Luther's "{{lang|de|Es woll uns Gott genädig sein}}" on a melody by Matthias Greitter, used twice in Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76 (1723) {{r|BraatzOron2006}}{{Self-published inline|date=October 2009}}
• Heinrich Schütz's Johannes-Passion (1666) is in the Phrygian mode{{r|Grove2001_Schütz}}
• Dieterich Buxtehude's (d. 1707) Prelude in A minor, BuxWV 152,{{r|Grove2001_Buxtehude}} (labeled Phrygisch in the BuxWV catalog){{r|Karstädt1985}}{{Page needed|date=May 2011}}

• Johannes Brahms:
• Symphony No. 4, second movement. {{cite book |last1=Steinberg |first1=Michael |title=The Symphony: A Listener's Guide |date=1995 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York; Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-512665-5 |page=89}}
• Anton Bruckner:
• Ave Regina caelorum, WAB 8 (1885–88).{{sfn|Carver|2005|pp=76–77}}
• Pange lingua, WAB 33 (second setting, 1868).{{sfn|Carver|2005|p=79}}{{sfn|Partsch|2007|p=227}}
• Symphony no. 3, passages in the third (scherzo) and fourth movements .{{sfn|Carver|2005|pp=89–90}}
• Symphony no. 4 (third version, 1880), Finale.{{sfn|Carver|2005|pp=90–92}}
• Symphony no. 6, first, third (scherzo), and fourth movements.{{sfn|Carver|2005|pp=91–98}}
• Symphony no. 7, first movement.{{sfn|Carver|2005|pp=96–97}}
• Symphony no. 8, first and fourth movements.{{sfn|Carver|2005|p=98}}
• Tota pulchra es, WAB 46 (1878).{{sfn|Carver|2005|pp=79, 81–88}}
• Vexilla regis, WAB 51 (1892).{{sfn|Carver|2005|pp=79–80}}
• Isaac Albéniz' Rumores de la Caleta, Op. 71, No. 6
• Ralph Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis,{{r|Grove2001_Vaughan}} based on Thomas Tallis's 1567 setting of Psalm 2, "Why fum'th in sight".

• John Coolidge Adams, Phrygian Gates{{r|JAdams2010}}
• Samuel Barber:
• Adagio for Strings, op. 11{{sfn|Pollack|2000|p=191}}
• "I Hear an Army", from Three Songs, op. 10{{sfn|Pollack|2000|p=192}}
• Philip Glass, the final aria from Satyagraha{{r|Grove2001_Glass}}
• Julian Cochran, Prelude No. 14 uses the Phrygian scale throughout the work.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd56XOJ1W8w |title=Prelude No. 14, Julian. Cochran |author= |date=2022 |website=YouTube |publisher=Noreen Holtzen|quote=The phrygian scale is used throughout the work.}}

• Howard Shore, "Prologue" accompanying the opening sequence of the film, though the second half of the melody contains an A natural, which in the key of the piece makes it Phrygian Dominant. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.{{r|DAdams2010_54}}

• "Solea" by Gil Evans from Sketches of Spain (1960).{{r|PelletierBacquaertND}}
• "Infant Eyes" by Wayne Shorter from Speak No Evil (1966)Baerman, Noah (1996). Complete Jazz Keyboard Method: Intermediate Jazz Keyboard, 21. Alfred Music. {{ISBN|9781457412905}}.
• "After the Rain" by John Coltrane from Impressions (1963)

{{quote|In practical terms it should be said that few rock songs that use modes such as the phrygian, Lydian, or locrian actually maintain a harmony rigorously fixed on them. What usually happens is that the scale is harmonized in [chords with perfect] fifths and the riffs are then played [over] those [chords].Rooksby, Rikky (2010). [https://books.google.com/books?id=ftGGDwAAQBAJ&dq=Locrian+mode&pg=PT121 Riffs: How to Create and Play Great Guitar Riffs]. Backbeat. {{ISBN|9781476855486}}.}}

• "Symphony of Destruction" by MegadethSerna, Desi (2008). Fretboard Theory, v. 1, p. 113. Guitar-Music-Theory.com. {{ISBN|9780615226224}}.
• "Remember Tomorrow" by Iron MaidenSerna, Desi (2021). Guitar Theory For Dummies with Online Practice, p.266. Wiley. {{ISBN|9781119842972}}.
• "Wherever I May Roam" by Metallica
• "War" by Joe Satriani
• "Sails of Charon" by Scorpions

• "This Is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan
• "Gin & Juice" by Snoop Dogg
• "Demons" by Doja Cat
• "New Person, Same Old Mistakes" by Tame Impala{{Cite web |title=Phrygian Mode: Complete Beginner's Guide |url=https://emastered.com/blog/phrygian-mode |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=emastered.com |language=en}}
• "I Care" by Beyoncé
• "Doo Wop (That Thing)" by Lauryn Hill

• Bhairavi, the equivalent scale (thaat) in Hindustani music
• Shoor, the main scale (dastgah) in Iranian music
• Hanumatodi, the equivalent scale (melakarta) in Carnatic music
• Kürdî, the equivalent scale (makam) in Turkish makam music
• Neapolitan chord
• Phrygian cadence

Footnotes

{{reflist|refs=

{{harvnb|Sadie|Tyrrell|2001|loc="Phrygian" by Harold S. Powers}}.

{{cite web |last=Vargas |first=Enrique |title=Modal Improvisation And Melodic Construction In The Flamenco Environment |website=Guitarras De Luthier |url=https://www.guitarrasdeluthier.com/en/product/flamenco-guitar-book-theory-ii/575}}

{{cite journal |last=Thomas |first=Samuel |title=Correlates between Berber and Flamenco Rhythms |website=Academia |url=https://www.academia.edu/5669246 }}

{{harvnb|Sadie|Tyrrell|2001|loc="Flamenco [cante flamenco]" by Israel J. Katz}}.

Benward, Bruce, and Marilyn Nadine Saker. 2009. Music in Theory and Practice: Volume II, eighth edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill. p. 244. {{ISBN|978-0-07-310188-0}}.

Pöhlmann, Egert, and Martin L. West. 2001. Documents of Ancient Greek Music: The Extant Melodies and Fragments, edited and transcribed with commentary by Egert Pöhlmann and Martin L. West. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 73. {{ISBN|0-19-815223-X}}.

{{CathEncy|wstitle= Aurora Lucis Rutilat |volume= 2 |last= Otten |first= Joseph |author-link= |short=1 }}

{{harvnb|Sadie|Tyrrell|2001|loc="Requiem Mass" (§1) by Theodore Karp, Fabrice Fitch and Basil Smallman}}.

Braatz, Thomas, and Aryeh Oron. April 2006. "[http://www.bach-cantatas.com/CM/Es-woll-uns.htm Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works Es woll (or wolle/wollt) uns Gott genädig sein]". (accessed 24 October 2009)

{{harvnb|Sadie|Tyrrell|2001|loc="Schütz, Heinrich [Henrich] [Sagittarius, Henricus]" (§10) by Joshua Rifkin, Eva Linfield, Derek McCulloch and Stephen Baron}}.

{{harvnb|Sadie|Tyrrell|2001|loc="Buxtehude, Dieterich" by Kerala J. Snyder}}.

Karstädt, G. (ed.). 1985. Thematisch-systematisches Verzeichnis der musikalischen Werke von Dietrich Buxtehude: Buxtehude-Werke-Verzeichnis, second edition. Wiesbaden. French online adaptation, "[http://infopuq.uquebec.ca/~uss1010/catal/buxtehude/buxdcati1.html Dietrich Buxtehude, (c.1637–1707) Catalogue des oeuvres BuxWV: Oeuvres instrumentales: Musique pour orgue, BuxWV 136–225]". Université du Québec website (Accessed 17 May 2011).

{{harvnb|Sadie|Tyrrell|2001|loc="Vaughan Williams, Ralph" by Hugh Ottaway and Alain Frogley}}.

Adams, John. 2010. [https://www.earbox.com/phrygian-gates-china-gates/ "Phrygian Gates and China Gates"]. John Adams official web site. Accessed 7 August 2019.

{{harvnb|Sadie|Tyrrell|2001|loc="Glass, Philip" by Edward Strickland}}.

Adams, Doug. 2010. The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films: A Comprehensive Account of Howard Shore's Scores. Van Nuys, California: Carpentier/Alfred Music Publishing. p. 54. {{ISBN|0-7390-7157-2}}.

Pelletier-Bacquaert, Bruno. n.d. [http://brunojazz.com/vt-SusChords1.htm "Various Thoughts: Sus Chords"], accessed December 10, 2009.

}}

Sources

• {{cite journal|last=Carver|first=Anthony F.|date=February 2005|title=Bruckner and the Phrygian Mode|journal=Music & Letters|volume=86|issue=1|pages=74–99|doi=10.1093/ml/gci004}}
• {{cite journal |last=Partsch |first=Erich Wolfgang |date=2007 |title=Anton Bruckners phrygisches Pange lingua (WAB 33) |journal=Singende Kirche |volume=54 |issue=4 |pages=227–229 |issn=0037-5721}}
• {{cite journal|last=Pesic|first=Peter|date=2005|title=Earthly Music and Cosmic Harmony: Johannes Kepler's Interest in Practical Music, Especially Orlando di Lasso|journal=Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music|volume=11|issue=1|url=http://www.sscm-jscm.org/v11/no1/pesic.html}}
• {{cite journal|last=Pollack|first=Howard|date=Summer 2000|title=Samuel Barber, Jean Sibelius, and the Making of an American Romantic|journal=The Musical Quarterly|volume=84|issue=2|pages=175–205|doi=10.1093/musqtl/84.2.175}}
• {{cite book|date=2001|editor1-last=Sadie|editor1-first=Stanley|editor1-link=Stanley Sadie|editor2-last=Tyrrell|editor2-first=John|editor2-link=John Tyrrell (musicologist)|title=The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|edition=2nd|location=London|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=9780195170672}}
• {{cite journal|last=Solomon|first=Jon|date=Summer 1984|title=Towards a History of Tonoi|journal=The Journal of Musicology|volume=3|issue=3|pages=242–251|doi=10.2307/763814|jstor=763814}}
• {{cite journal|last=Solomon|first=Jon|date=Winter 1986|title=The Seikilos Inscription: A Theoretical Analysis |journal=American Journal of Philology|volume=107|issue=4 |pages=455–479|doi=10.2307/295097|jstor=295097}}

• Franklin, Don O. 1996. "Vom alten zum neuen Adam: Phrygischer Kirchenton und moderne Tonalität in J. S. Bachs Kantate 38". In Von Luther zu Bach: Bericht über die Tagung 22.–25. September 1996 in Eisenach, edited by Renate Steiger, 129–144. Internationalen Arbeitsgemeinschaft für theologische Bachforschung (1996): Eisenach. Sinzig: Studio-Verlag. {{ISBN|3-89564-056-5}}.
• Gombosi, Otto. 1951. "Key, Mode, Species". Journal of the American Musicological Society 4, no. 1:20–26. {{JSTOR|830117}} (Subscription access) {{doi|10.1525/jams.1951.4.1.03a00020}}
• Hewitt, Michael. 2013. Musical Scales of the World. [s.l.]: The Note Tree. {{ISBN|978-0-9575470-0-1}}.
• Novack, Saul. 1977. "The Significance of the Phrygian Mode in the History of Tonality". Miscellanea Musicologica 9:82–177. {{ISSN|0076-9355}} {{OCLC|1758333}}
• Tilton, Mary C. 1989. "The Influence of Psalm Tone and Mode on the Structure of the Phrygian Toccatas of Claudio Merulo". Theoria 4:106–122. {{ISSN|0040-5817}}

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