Phrygian dominant scale


In music, the Phrygian dominant scale also known as Phrygian ♮3 or Double Harmonic Major ♭7 is the actual fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale, the fifth being the dominant. It is also called the harmonic dominant, altered Phrygian scale, dominant flat 2 flat 6, Hijaz, or Freygish scale. It resembles the Phrygian mode but with a major third, rather than a minor third.
In the Berklee method, it is known as the Mixolydian 9 13 chord scale, a Mixolydian scale with a lowered 9th and lowered 13th, used in secondary dominant chord scales for V7/III and V7/VI.

Construction

Built on C, the scale is as follows.

When related to the scale degrees of the major scale, it reads:
The sequence of steps forming the Phrygian dominant scale is:
This scale occurs in Indian, Middle Eastern, Balkan, Greek music, Eastern European, Central Asian, and flamenco music. It is also present in Arabic and Egyptian music, in which it is called , but is not so frequent. The scale is used in Hebrew prayers and Klezmer music as well, where it is known as Ahava Rabbah, Freygish or just the "Jewish scale", and is called Dastgāh-e Homayun in Iran. It is the most common scale in North Indian classical raga Hijaz Bhairav and South Indian raga Vakulabharanam.
It is sometimes called the Spanish Phrygian scale, Spanish Gypsy scale or Phrygian major scale and is common in flamenco music. It can also be found in traditional Spanish songs outside flamenco, everywhere in Spain to varying amounts, but especially in southern and central areas of the country, often being also known as escala andaluza in Spanish. Related scales in Spanish traditional music with chromatic notes in the second degree, varying between a semitone and a tone, are also known as "gama española" or "gama de Castilla y León" and, though found all over Spain, are particularly common in Castilian and Leonese traditional songs.
The flatted second and the augmented second between the second and third scale degrees of the scale create its distinctive sound. Examples include some versions of "Hava Nagila", "Sha Shtil" and "Misirlou", while other versions of those melodies use the closely related "double harmonic scale". The main chords derived from this scale are I, II, iv, and vii.
When the Freygish scale is used in Klezmer music, the sixth degree may be left unflatted if it is melodically approached and left from above, or the seventh degree may be raised as well.
The Phrygian dominant scale is often used in jazz composition and improvisation over secondary dominants of minor chords in a major key, such as the VI7 chord in a VI7-ii7-V7-I progression. Some modal jazz compositions, such as "Nardis" by Miles Davis, are composed in the Phrygian dominant mode.