Phrygian dominant runs for metal guitar
Runs in 16ths through E Phrygian dominant, the scale with a flat 2nd and a major 3rd, E F G sharp A B C D: down the high strings from E, back up, and down to a held G sharp. That augmented step from F to G sharp is the sound of neoclassical and Middle Eastern-flavoured metal, and the runs train alternate picking across the strings with a scale shape that isn't a box you already know.
Opens in the player looped and counted in, with drums playing along, and speeds up 5 % every 2 loops to 100 bpm. No account or microphone needed.
- Goal tempo
- 100 bpm
- Starts at
- 60 bpm
- Length
- 4 bars, looped
- Tuning
- E standard
- Time
- 4/4
- Level
- Advanced
- Plays with
- Drums
How to play it
Fingers stay over frets 6 to 10 except for the reach to the 12th and 13th; alternate pick every note.
E Phrygian dominant is E, F, G sharp, A, B, C and D. The runs sit mostly on the top three strings around frets 6 to 10, with reaches to the 12th and 13th on the high E string, and the last bar goes down to the D string.
The first bar runs down from E at the 12th fret of the high E string to F on the B string, turns back up to E and F, and down to D. The second bar goes on down to D on the G string and climbs back up to C. The last bar runs from the high E down to A on the D string and holds G sharp at the 6th fret with a vibrato.
Alternate pick every note, starting each beat with a downstroke. The string changes fall in different places in each beat, so go slowly until the hand knows where they are.
Mistakes to watch for
- Playing G instead of G sharp: the augmented step from F to G sharp is the scale's whole flavour.
- Shifting late for the 12th and 13th frets, so those notes come out late.
- Picking getting uneven at the string changes in the middle of a beat.
A speed plan
The player starts at 60 % of the goal and plays each tempo twice before stepping up:
- 60
- 65
- 70
- 75
- 80
- 85
- 90
- 95
- 100
That's 16 loops and about 3 minutes before you're playing at 100 bpm. If it stops being clean on the way, stop the ramp there and loop that tempo until it is. With a microphone or an audio interface you can record while you play instead: Demiurg checks every loop and steps up only after two clean ones in a row, and back down after a poor one.
Questions
How fast should I play Phrygian dominant runs?
The goal is 100 bpm in 16th notes, which is 6.7 notes a second. Start wherever every note is clean: the player begins at 60 bpm. Signed in, you can set a goal of your own, slower or faster, on the Exercises page.
What is the Phrygian dominant scale?
The fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale: in A harmonic minor, starting on E. Over an E major chord it sounds Spanish or Middle Eastern, and it's a favourite of neoclassical and folk-influenced metal.
When can I use it?
Over the V chord of a minor key, E or E7 in A minor, and over riffs that sit on one low note and lean on the note a fret above it, like E and F.
More metal exercises
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