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Guitar scale · Gypsy minor

Ab Hungarian Minor Scale

Featuring ♯4 and 7 degrees for the passionate, sharp sound of Gypsy/Hungarian folk music.

Notes AbBbCbDEbFbG
Formula 1 2 ♭3 ♯4 5 ♭6 7
Steps W H W+H H H W+H H
Mood Passionate, Sharp, Exotic
Heard in Balkan Music, Neoclassical Metal

Interactive scale diagram

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

How to play Ab Hungarian Minor 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 Bb
♭3 Cb
♯4 D
5 Eb
♭6 Fb
7 G

Chords in Ab Hungarian Minor

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

Degree Chord 7th chord Function
i Abm Abm(maj7) Tonic
II — — Supertonic
♭III+ Cbaug Cbmaj7#5 Mediant
♯IV — — Subdominant
V Eb Ebmaj7 Dominant
♭VI Fb Fbmaj7 Submediant
vii Gm — Leading tone / subtonic

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Questions

What notes are in the Ab Hungarian Minor Scale?
The Ab Hungarian Minor Scale has 7 notes: Ab, Bb, Cb, D, Eb, Fb, G.
What chords are in the Ab Hungarian Minor Scale?
The chords of Ab Hungarian Minor are Abm (i), Cbaug (♭III+), Eb (V), Fb (♭VI), Gm (vii).
What is the formula of the hungarian minor scale?
1 2 ♭3 ♯4 5 ♭6 7, which is the step pattern W H W+H H H W+H H (W = whole step, H = half step).
Where do I play Ab Hungarian Minor 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 Minor Scale in every key

More scales in Ab