guitarchords

Scale degree map

Every chord in a key has a job: it feels like home, it moves away, or it builds tension that wants to resolve. Tap a chord to hear it and see where it wants to go.

C Phrygian, minor with a ♭2. Dark and tense. The half step above home gives it a Spanish, heavy edge. Same notes as A♭ major.

The seven chords of C Phrygian

tap to hear
CPhrygian
strongest
common
occasional
where i goes · thicker = stronger pullchords that lead into i

Tonic

C minor

The abyss — feels dark, menacing, unresolved

All Cm voicings

Home, but not safe. Phrygian tonic sits under constant shadow — it resolves nothing, it just is. The ♭II above it is always looming.

Where it wants to go

Heard in

  • Metallica — "Wherever I May Roam"
  • Rage Against the Machine — "Bombtrack"

Play C minor on guitar

Start with the plain chord, then colour it.
EADGBe321412345
  • CRoot
  • E♭♭3
  • G5

Colour it

dashed = needs a note from outside C Phrygian
Base
Colour
Richness
Suspension
CmDark, grounded, directIn C Phrygian

Go further in C Phrygian

How phrases end: the moves that create (or deny) resolution.

  • ♭IID♭iCm
    Phrygian Cadence♭II→i — the cadence that defines the mode. A major chord dropping a half-step onto the minor tonic. Used in flamenco, metal, and anywhere you want gravity without conventional tension-resolution.
  • iCm♭IID♭iCm
    Phrygian Loopi–♭II–i — not a cadence in the traditional sense, but the foundational riff loop of the mode. The ♭II functions as a tension chord that never truly resolves — it just cycles.
  • ♭VIA♭♭viiB♭miCm
    Descending Cadence♭VI–♭vii–i — a stepwise descent through three chords back to tonic. Cinematic and inevitable, like a slow curtain drop.
  • ivFmiCm
    Plagal Darkiv→i — minor subdominant to minor tonic. No leading tone, no brightness — pure downward weight. The dark plagal cadence.