ScottG Practice Lab · Session 17 · Pack 02 Companion

Phrygian Dominant Drills

The workout behind the voice. Pack 02 taught you to make the ♭2 speak — this is the technical side: E Phrygian Dominant (E F G♯ A B C D) drilled into the hands. Positions, sequences, the flamenco chord move, and the string-crossing that makes the augmented 2nd effortless. Drone on, always.

01The Single String — Hear It Linearly

Drill 1 · one string, whole octave

The Low-E Ladder

Entire scale on the low E string · slow · say the intervals aloud as you play

One string strips away box shapes and forces you to hear the distances — especially the 3-fret leap from F to G♯ (the augmented 2nd). Slide between notes; make it snake.

E|--0--1--4--5--7--8--10--12--10--8--7--5--4--1--0--|
   E  F  G♯ A  B  C  D   E   (and back down)
      └3-fret leap┘ ← feel the gap, that's the exotic

TARGET · smooth slides between every note · call intervals out loud: "root, flat-2, THREE..."

02Two Boxes — Own The Neck

Drill 2 · fifth position box

The 5th-Position Octave

One octave, four strings, 5th position · ascend + descend · 60→100bpm

e|----------------------------------|
B|----------------------------3--5--|
G|-----------------4--5-------------|
D|--------6--7----------------------|
A|--7--8----------------------------|
  E  F  G♯ A   B  C    D  E
        └the aug-2nd is a string-cross here — A8 to D6

The point of this box: the F→G♯ leap happens across strings (A-string 8 to D-string 6), which is far easier than the 3-fret stretch — this is the position for speed.

TARGET · clean at 100bpm 16ths · the string-cross leap inaudible as a "jump"

Drill 3 · twelfth position box (Pack 02 home)

The 12th-Position Octave + Descent Run

The Pack 02 territory, extended down two strings · the full flamenco descent

   ascend the top, then the LONG descent:
e|--12--13--16--17--16--13--12--------------------------|
B|----------------------------------15--13--12----------|
G|----------------------------------------------14--13--|
  E   F   G♯  A   G♯  F   E    D   C   B    A   G♯
                              ← ♭7  ♭6  5   4   3 — falling all the way

The nine-note descent (4–3–♭2–R–♭7–♭6–5–4–3) is the Phrygian dominant run — every flamenco and Ritchie Blackmore line lives in here. Learn it as one gesture.

TARGET · the descent as a single breath, slight accelerando into the last note, vibrato on the G♯

03Sequences — The Snake Patterns

Drill 4 · groups of three

Threes Up The Ladder

Play 1-2-3, 2-3-4, 3-4-5... up the low-E ladder from Drill 1 · triplet feel

E|--0-1-4--1-4-5--4-5-7--5-7-8--7-8-10--8-10-12--|
  EFG♯   FG♯A   G♯AB   ABC    BCD     CDE

The classic three-note sequencer applied to the exotic ladder. Every third group contains the augmented 2nd — the pattern keeps surprising itself, which is exactly why sequenced Phrygian dominant sounds so serpentine.

TARGET · even triplets, no hesitation at the leap groups · reverse it coming down

Drill 5 · the cell workout

R–♭2–3 Everywhere

The Pack 02 cell (E–F–G♯) found in three octaves · connect them

E|--0--1--4--------------------------------------|
A|-----------7--8--------------------------------|
D|-----------------6---------------------------|
e|-----------------------12--13--16--~~~--------|
  E  F  G♯  E  F   G♯    E   F   G♯  (three octaves)

The identity cell played low, middle, and high, then connected in one pass. This is your exotic hook available in every register — bottom-string menace, mid-neck growl, top-string cry.

TARGET · all three octaves in one flowing line · end with vibrato on the high G♯

04The Flamenco Chord Move

Drill 6 · THE harmonic signature

E → F/E → E — The Oscillation

E major to an F triad over the droning open E · the sound of Spain in two chords

Phrygian dominant harmonised gives you E major (I) and F major (♭II) side by side — one fret apart. Hold the open low E droning and rock between them. This is the Andalusian cadence's engine room, the accompaniment to everything in Pack 02.

        E major            F/E                E major
e|--0-------------|--1-------------|--0-------------|
B|--0-------------|--1-------------|--0-------------|
G|--1-------------|--2-------------|--1-------------|
D|--2-------------|--3-------------|--2-------------|
A|--2-------------|--x-------------|--2-------------|
E|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
   home            the ♭2 chord      home — keep the low E ringing throughout

The trick: the F shape is just the E-shape fragment slid up one fret while the open low E keeps droning underneath. Strum it in a loose flamenco rhythm — down-down-up, lazy. Every lick from Pack 02 sits on top of this oscillation.

TARGET · loop it for 3 minutes with the drone unbroken · then record it and solo over your own bed

05The Spice Upgrade — Double Harmonic Teaser

Drill 7 · one note hotter

Raise the ♭7 — D becomes D♯

Same scale, one change: ♭7→7 · now TWO augmented 2nds · Byzantine mode

   Phrygian Dominant:            Double Harmonic (raise the D):
B|--12--13--15--17--|          B|--12--13--16--17--|
  B   C   D   E                  B   C   D♯  E
                                        └ second aug-2nd: C→D♯

One semitone and the scale doubles its exotic content — now there's an augmented 2nd at both ends (F→G♯ and C→D♯). Play the same Pack 02 phrases with the D♯ and hear them go from Spain to Byzantium. Use sparingly; it's very rich food.

TARGET · play the Drill 3 descent both ways — with D, then D♯ — and feel the temperature change

The Session Structure

10 min: Drill 1 ladder + Drill 4 sequences (technique). 10 min: Drills 2–3 boxes and the descent (vocabulary). 5 min: Drill 6 oscillation, recorded as a loop. Rest of session: solo over your own loop using the Pack 02 phrases + everything above. Drone always on. Suhr S, Broadcast noon, Butter on, BigSky hall — and this is a beautiful first workout for the OC16 on the dry cab: all that ♭2 vibrato detail is exactly what the new mic was bought to capture.