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Phrygian Chord Progression: Why It Doesn't Work (Part 1)
Recall that the dominant seventh chord is the only chord in harmony that has these two properties:
- Directionality: it “points” to the tonal centre.
- Unrest: it “demands” resolution, specifically to the tonic chord.
The dominant seventh is therefore crucial in establishing tonality. That’s why it’s called the dominant chord. It serves as the gateway, the means of gaining access to a defined tonal centre. Without the dominant chord, no tonal centre exists. There’s no cadence effect and your brain senses no meaningful harmonic cohesion.
The main problem with the Phrygian mode is that the dominant seventh chord, B7, contains two non-modal notes, D♯ and F♯. So, using B7 as the dominant chord does not establish tonality in the Phrygian mode. It establishes tonality in the key of E minor. To create Phrygian tonality, you would need to do something about those two non-modal notes in the B7 chord to fix things up.
But you can’t: