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Guitar scale · exotic

Ab Hungarian Major Scale

1 ♯2 3 ♯4 5 6 ♭7: a scale with a major 3rd, a raised 2nd and a raised 4th, so it has an augmented 2nd from the root up to the ♯2.

Notes AbBCDEbFGb
Formula 1 ♯2 3 ♯4 5 6 ♭7
Steps W+H H W H W H W
Mood Exotic, Bright, Dramatic
Heard in Folk-inspired Music, Modal Improvisation

Interactive scale diagram

Ab Hungarian Major Scale · Standard tuning

STR OP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 E A D G B E

Tap any note to hear it.

Ab Hungarian Major Scale tab: all 5 positions

Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.

Position 1 · E shape frets 4–8
e|-----------------------------4-7-8-|
B|-------------------------6-7-------|
G|-----------------4-5-7-8-----------|
D|-------------4-6-------------------|
A|-------5-6-8-----------------------|
E|-4-7-8-----------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 6–10
e|--------------------------------7-8-10-|
B|----------------------------7-9--------|
G|---------------------7-8-10------------|
D|--------------6-9-10-------------------|
A|--------6-8-9--------------------------|
E|-7-8-10--------------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 8–12
e|-------------------------------------8-10-11-|
B|--------------------------------9-12---------|
G|------------------------8-10-11--------------|
D|----------------9-10-12----------------------|
A|---------8-9-11------------------------------|
E|-8-10-11-------------------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 11–15
e|-------------------------------------------11-13-14-|
B|----------------------------------12-13-15----------|
G|----------------------------11-13-------------------|
D|-------------------12-13-15-------------------------|
A|----------11-14-15----------------------------------|
E|-11-13-14-------------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 13–17
e|-------------------------------------------13-14-16-|
B|-------------------------------------15-16----------|
G|----------------------------13-16-17----------------|
D|-------------------13-15-16-------------------------|
A|----------14-15-17----------------------------------|
E|-13-14-16-------------------------------------------|

How to play Ab Hungarian Major on guitar

Find the root first: Ab is at fret 4 on the low E string and fret 11 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Ab on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (3, 5, ♭7), the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.

Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 4–8. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.

Degrees

DegreeNote
1 Ab
♯2 B
3 C
♯4 D
5 Eb
6 F
♭7 Gb

Chords in Ab Hungarian Major

Stack every other note of the scale and you get these seven chords. They are the chords that sound "at home" in Ab Hungarian Major; tap one to see its shapes.

Degree Chord 7th chord Function
I Ab Ab7 Tonic
♯ii° Bdim Bdim7 Supertonic
iii° Cdim — Mediant
♯iv° Ddim Dm7b5 Subdominant
V — — Dominant
vi Fm Fm7 Submediant
♭VII — — Leading tone / subtonic

Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android

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This page is a small slice of Fretwise. The app adds practice: exercises that play as tab, a new routine every day, and the tools to tune and keep time. On iPhone, iPad and Android, no sign-up.

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Questions

What notes are in the Ab Hungarian Major Scale?
The Ab Hungarian Major Scale has 7 notes: Ab, B, C, D, Eb, F, Gb.
What chords are in the Ab Hungarian Major Scale?
The chords of Ab Hungarian Major are Ab (I), Bdim (♯ii°), Cdim (iii°), Ddim (♯iv°), Fm (vi).
What is the formula of the hungarian major scale?
1 ♯2 3 ♯4 5 6 ♭7, which is the step pattern W+H H W H W H W (W = whole step, H = half step).
Where do I play Ab Hungarian Major on the guitar?
The root Ab is at fret 4 on the low E string and fret 11 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 4–8, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Hungarian Major Scale in every key

More scales in Ab