Chords in E Phrygian

E Phrygian is built from the notes E, F, G, A, B, C and D. It uses no sharps or flats at all. Harmonising that scale in thirds gives seven chords — 3 majors, 3 minors and 1 diminished — starting on Em as the i. The chord on the fifth degree is Bdim rather than a major VØ, so E Phrygian has no leading tone and resolves by step and colour instead of by dominant pull — the sound that separates it from a plain E major.

Beyond those seven, E Phrygian commonly borrows E (I), F#m (ii), G#m (iii), A (IV) and B (V) from the parallel major — the mixture chords that give a progression somewhere unexpected to go.