Phrygian, Phrygian Dominant, 8-Tone Synthetic Mode

I see modes as rotations. When we are considering specifically the diatonic major scale then the rotations are referred to as modes. When we rotate other scales I refer to them as rotations, sometimes I've seen it referred to as 'synthetic modes' as in McLaughlin's description of the scales and 'modes' used on the recording Birds of Fire [classic first album by The Mahavishnu Orchestra].

In the meantime since there seems to be an interest in Phrygian, try taking the A harmonic minor scale: ABCDEFG#A and rotate it to its 5th which is E. The 'synthetic mode' produced is E Phrygian Dominant which interfaces beautifully with E Phrygian. They only differ by one note, but as we've seen with other scales, one note can make all the difference. You may want to try creating an 8 tone scale with the the two modes fused so that you have: ABCDEFGG#A. This makes for some interesting harmony especially when creating chords that contain both the G and G#.

Try taking the scale above, the A harmonic minor and harmonize it. What is it's 1 chord, its 2,3,4,5,6,7 chords? Then try taking the octatonic scale above and do the same. What is its 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, & 8 chords? Grab hold of a few shapes that you like. Rotate the tonal center to E and thread the harmony with either the E Phrygian [C major rotated], E Phrygian Dominant [A Harmonic Minor rotated], or a hybrid of the 2. I refer to that as Double Phrygian, but that's just my indexing.

MM

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