D Phrygian Dominant Scale
5th mode of harmonic minor. The Middle-Eastern / metal exotic sound.
Labels
Full neck(1 / 6)
Tap any note on the fretboard to hear it. Root notes are highlighted in brand blue and marked R in interval mode.
Root
D
Formula
1 b2 3 4 5 b6 b7
Notes
D D# F# G A A# C
Difficulty
Advanced
Common Genres
MetalFlamenco
Famous Guitarists Who Use It
Marty Friedman · Al Di Meola
Signature Licks & Ideas
- b2 → 3 leap gives you the 'Miserlou' surf/metal signature.
How to Practice
- Play the scale one octave, ascending and descending, on a single string first.
- Then play it across the strings in position — index finger anchored on the root fret.
- Loop it slowly with a metronome (start at 60 bpm) before pushing tempo.
- Improvise over a backing track in the same key — target the root note on beat 1.
Try This Scale in Another Key
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