Minor with a flattened 2nd — the dark, Spanish, metal-flavored mode.
Notes: E – F – G – A – B – C – D · Formula: 1 – ♭2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
One common CAGED approach; positions vary between teachers/methods.
Every E Phrygian Mode note from the open strings to the 17th fret — the root (white ring) repeats every octave.
Light up E Phrygian across the whole fretboard and hear every note in context.
Play E Phryg in the Studio →The E Phrygian scale contains the notes E, F, G, A, B, C, D. Its interval formula is 1 - ♭2 - ♭3 - 4 - 5 - ♭6 - ♭7, built from E as the root.
The flattened second degree. That half-step between the root and the next note (E to F in E Phrygian) is the interval you hear in flamenco and Spanish guitar, and it's also why Phrygian is so common in metal. Every other note matches a natural minor scale — it's that one lowered second that supplies the whole exotic character.