Unlocking Phrygian Dominant: Scales, Chords & Film Scoring

The song uses the Phrygian dominant chord, which creates tension through the flat 2nd. This chord is dark and almost murky but also ethereal, like trying to control anxiety through breathing. The lyrics reflect this attempt to calm oneself, but once the song opens this door, there is no way to close it.

This segment analyzes 'Want Another's' use of Phrygian dominant scale and vocal layering techniques. The performers explain that Phrygian dominant gives the song 'a very like moody, dampened down tone because it is in a major key, but it's the phrygian dominant so it's like not the most major key.' They note the scale emphasizes the tonic, ♭2, and ♭7, creating a distinctive harmonic outline. The analysis covers vocal layering, noting 'the use of not-his-voice is really nice, it's a lot airier and it's a lot more delicate and is a break from the intensity of the rest of the song.' This creates 'tingling' the brain and provides 'the exact kind of break we need for our ears to rest before we go hard again.' The performers describe the reverb creating a 'floating in space sound' that is 'very haunting' and 'like a siren calling out to you.'

The Phrygian dominant scale is used in film music for aggressive and intense scenes. The song 'Mission Impossible' theme uses this scale to create a sense of tension and aggression. This scale is particularly effective for creating musical passages that evoke feelings of danger, tension, and intensity.

Phrygian Dominant is a 7-tone scale with intervals of minor 2nd, major 3rd, perfect 4th, perfect 5th, minor 6th, and minor 7th, which creates a haunting, tense sound due to the minor 2nd interval; it is the 5th mode of the harmonic minor scale and works effectively over major chords, dominant 7th chords, and extended chords to create tension and exotic musical qualities commonly found in heavy metal, flamenco, and various world music traditions.

Tritone substitution involves replacing a dominant chord with another chord a tritone away, which shares the same 7th note. For example, a D13 chord can substitute for a G7 chord because they share the same 7th note (F). The Phrygian dominant scale (the fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale) provides notes for dominant 7th flat 9th chords. This allows players to create tension and resolution by using chords that temporarily think of a different chord as the tonic before resolving back to the original progression.

Advanced metal guitar solos employ multiple techniques: minor sixth arpeggios (1-3-5-6) create exotic sounds influenced by gypsy jazz; odd groupings in arpeggios create syncopated, unpredictable phrasing; string skipping enables fluid, connected playing through specific fingerings. These techniques demonstrate how metal guitarists develop sophisticated vocabulary that combines traditional influences with genre-specific innovations to create compelling solos.

To avoid predictable guitar solos, avoid always starting lines on the one beat and using the root note. Syncopated phrasing involves playing between the metronome clicks rather than on every downbeat. By starting new phrases on beats two, three, or off-beats, the solo becomes rhythmically more interesting. This simple technique immediately makes improvised guitar solos more engaging and professional-sounding by breaking the predictable 1-2-3-4 pattern.

Choosing musical intervals like thirds, sixths, and octaves creates more interesting guitar lines than simply playing root notes. The Free Bird solo demonstrates effective sweep picking through odd number note groupings (five notes per string followed by one note). This pattern creates ideal conditions for sweep picking, allowing rapid, fluid lines. The solo also showcases dramatic octave movements and aggressive playing style characteristic of early metal guitar.

Sweet Picking is a guitar technique that enables rapid arpeggio playing by sweeping the pick across multiple strings in a single motion. This video demonstrates five iconic metal guitar solos that showcase different applications of Sweet Picking: Children of Bodom's 'To War Dead End' uses third position with various arpeggios at high speed; Unearth's 'My Will Be Done' combines Sweet Picking with tapping for velocity; Winter Sun's 'Beyond The Dark Sun' employs semiquavers across four strings in A minor, requiring modified technique; In Flames' 'Rising Force' demonstrates two-string Sweet Picking at exceptional speed requiring extreme cleanliness; Jason Becker's 'Altitudes' represents the pinnacle of Sweet Picking with continuous third-position arpeggios in neoclassical style. Each solo demonstrates how Sweet Picking enables fluid, rapid arpeggio passages that define modern metal guitar playing.

This section demonstrates how alternate picking transitions into sweep picking in metal guitar solos. The technique involves starting with pull-offs on the same string (7-6-8-7), then following with alternate picking on adjacent strings. The sweep picking section uses the D major arpeggio shape with a specific picking pattern: down-down-up-up-up-down-pull-off, then continuing with upstrokes to the middle and first fingers. This integration of alternate picking and sweep picking creates the characteristic aggressive sound of Metallica's guitar work.

The Arabic scale, also known as the double harmonic major scale, Byzantine scale, or gypsy major scale, is a musical scale with an exotic, Middle Eastern sound characterized by a semitone interval between its first and second notes. This scale can be played on harmonica using specific bending techniques: the first note (C) uses a bend on the first hole, the second note (C#) uses a bend on the first hole aspirated, the third note (D) is played on the second hole blown, the fourth note (F) uses a bend on the second hole aspirated, the fifth note (Ab) uses the second hole aspirated or third hole blown, the sixth note (Bb) uses a bend on the third hole aspirated, and the seventh note (C) uses the seventh hole aspirated. The scale can be played in different octaves, with the low octave producing a richer sound but requiring more difficult bending techniques.

The double harmonic major scale, featuring a lowered second and lowered sixth that create augmented intervals between the flat 2 and major 3rd, and between the flat 6th and major 7th, is commonly found in traditional music from the Middle East, Balkan Peninsula, and India, and corresponds with the Arabic maam known as hijaz car; in film music composition, this scale can be applied through a prominent melody that emphasizes these wide intervals, supported by background elements like xylophone keyboard patterns and hemiola rhythms (three-against-two patterns) to create a rich tapestry of harmony and rhythm.

The song transitions through multiple musical modes: Maqam Khamsi on Si-Mi-Mol (Bb, C, D, G, F) and Maqam Hijaz Kar on Si-Mi-Mol (Bb, Eb, G, Bb). Maqam Khamsi follows the pattern Si-Mi-Mol, Do, Re, Sol, Fa. Maqam Hijaz Kar consists of Si-Mi-Mol, Mi-Mol, Sol, and Si-Mi-Mol. The instructor demonstrates these scales slowly, explaining the intervals and notes that create each mode's unique sound. This section illustrates how Arabic music uses different scales to create emotional depth and variety, with Hijaz Kar particularly known for its dramatic and emotional qualities.

This video introduces five exotic Middle Eastern maqam scales that can be played on guitar, piano, or any instrument. The instructor, Naid from UD for Guitarists, has been teaching oud worldwide for 10 years. These scales add exotic flavor to playing and surprise listeners. The scales include Hijaz, Nikhara, Shur, Aar, and Sab Zamzam, each with unique note structures and melodic characteristics.

The Double Harmonic Major scale is an exotic musical scale created by modifying the C major scale. It is constructed by taking all white keys (C, D, E, F, G, A, B) and lowering the second and sixth degrees by one semitone each, resulting in the notes C, D♯, E, F, G, A♯, B, C. The interval pattern consists of semitone, major second, semitone, whole tone, semitone, major second, semitone. This scale produces a distinctly Arabic sound and is commonly used in ethnic and world music genres. The scale's characteristic sound is most audible when notes are played sequentially in ascending or descending order. To create complete Arabic-sounding compositions, musicians can add percussion, bass lines, and pseudo-harmony using chords like the 'churu' chord. Experimenting with this scale can produce diverse genres, including trap music with exotic characteristics, demonstrating how scale exploration expands musical horizons.