Flamenco Progressions
The Andalusian cadence and Phrygian dominant · i – ♭VII – ♭VI – V (or iv – ♭III – ♭II – I in Phrygian)
Flamenco harmony is built on the Andalusian cadence — the descending four-chord progression i – ♭VII – ♭VI – V — and on the Phrygian dominant sound that gives Spanish music its unmistakable fire. The progression walks the bass down four steps to a major V chord, but unlike ordinary tonal music, that V often becomes the resting point rather than the tonic, producing the bright, tense, "Spanish" colour heard in flamenco guitar, film scores, and a surprising amount of rock and metal.
The Andalusian cadence — i, ♭VII, ♭VI, V
A stepwise descent from the minor tonic down to a major dominant. The signature sound of flamenco. Try it in any key and hear the bass walk down to that bright, tense V.
Toggle voice leading in the player to hear it smooth out, or learn voice leading →
The crimson and ochre palette on this page is inspired by music-color synesthesia, flamenco progressions maps to crimson and ochre, reflecting its passionate, Spanish-guitar fire.
About Flamenco Progressions
The Andalusian cadence is i – ♭VII – ♭VI – V, and its defining feature is the bass line: it descends by step from the tonic down through the flattened seventh and sixth to the fifth — a four-note descending tetrachord that has been a building block of Western music since the Baroque. In A minor that is Am – G – F – E. What makes it sound Spanish rather than merely sad is the final chord: the V is a *major* chord (E major in A minor, borrowing a G♯ from outside the natural-minor scale), and in flamenco it frequently becomes the point of rest. The music sits on that bright, tense major chord instead of resolving back to the minor tonic.
When the V chord becomes the tonal center, the scale that fits over it is the Phrygian dominant — the fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale. It is a major scale with a flattened second and flattened sixth, and that lowered second degree (the half-step right above the root) is the single most "flamenco" sound in music. Guitarists exploit it constantly, hammering the ♭II against the root. The same scale shows up in klezmer, Middle Eastern music, and metal, which is why all of those styles can sound momentarily Spanish.
Flamenco guitarists organize the music around fixed hand positions called por arriba and por medio. Por arriba centers the cadence on E (using the open low E string as the tonal anchor), giving the i – ♭VII – ♭VI – V progression as Am – G – F – E resting on E. Por medio centers on A (using the open A string), shifting the whole cadence so it rests on A major. These positions are not different progressions — they are the same Andalusian cadence transposed to sit comfortably under the hand on a guitar, which is why so much flamenco lives in those two key areas.
The Andalusian cadence travelled far beyond flamenco. Ray Charles's "Hit the Road Jack" is a pop Andalusian cadence (Am – G – F – E) looped through the whole song. Dire Straits' "Sultans of Swing" opens on the same descent. The Stray Cats' "Stray Cat Strut," surf instrumentals like "Misirlou," and countless film cues reach for it whenever they want an exotic, dramatic, or Spanish flavour. Once you can hear the stepwise minor descent to a major V, you will recognize it in genres that have nothing to do with Spain.
Variations
Phrygian vamp — i, ♭II
The two-chord heart of the flamenco sound: the minor tonic against the flattened second. The most concentrated "Spanish" colour there is.
Por arriba — i, ♭VII, ♭VI, V, i
The Andalusian cadence resolved back to the minor tonic, in the open-E guitar position flamenco players call "por arriba".
Famous songs & pieces
- Hit the Road Jack, Ray Charles (Am – G – F – E Andalusian cadence looped throughout)
- Sultans of Swing, Dire Straits (Opens on the descending Andalusian bass)
- Stray Cat Strut, Stray Cats (i – ♭VII – ♭VI – V rockabilly Andalusian)
- Misirlou, Dick Dale (trad.) (Phrygian-dominant surf instrumental)
- Traditional soleá (The core flamenco palo, built on the Andalusian cadence)
- Asturias (Leyenda), Isaac Albéniz (Spanish classical guitar staple on the same harmony)