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Guitar scale · Gypsy minor

C Hungarian Minor Scale

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

Notes CDEbF#GAbB
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

C 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.

C 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 8–12
e|--------------------------------------8-10-11-|
B|---------------------------------9-12---------|
G|-------------------------8-11-12--------------|
D|-----------------9-10-12----------------------|
A|---------9-10-11------------------------------|
E|-8-10-11--------------------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 10–14
e|-------------------------------------------10-11-14-|
B|-------------------------------------12-13----------|
G|----------------------------11-12-13----------------|
D|-------------------10-12-13-------------------------|
A|----------10-11-14----------------------------------|
E|-10-11-14-------------------------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 12–16
e|-------------------------------------------14-15-16-|
B|----------------------------------13-15-16----------|
G|-------------------------12-13-16-------------------|
D|----------------12-13-16----------------------------|
A|----------14-15-------------------------------------|
E|-14-15-16-------------------------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 15–19
e|-------------------------------------------15-16-19-|
B|-------------------------------------16-19----------|
G|----------------------------16-17-19----------------|
D|-------------------16-17-18-------------------------|
A|----------15-17-18----------------------------------|
E|-15-16-19-------------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 17–21
e|-------------------------------------------19-20-|
B|----------------------------------19-20-21-------|
G|-------------------------17-19-20----------------|
D|----------------17-18-21-------------------------|
A|-------17-18-21----------------------------------|
E|-19-20-------------------------------------------|

How to play C Hungarian Minor on guitar

Find the root first: C is at fret 8 on the low E string and fret 3 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every C 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 8–12. 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 C
2 D
♭3 Eb
♯4 F#
5 G
♭6 Ab
7 B

Chords in C Hungarian Minor

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

Degree Chord 7th chord Function
i Cm Cm(maj7) Tonic
II — — Supertonic
♭III+ Ebaug Ebmaj7#5 Mediant
♯IV — — Subdominant
V G Gmaj7 Dominant
♭VI Ab Abmaj7 Submediant
vii Bm — Leading tone / subtonic

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Questions

What notes are in the C Hungarian Minor Scale?
The C Hungarian Minor Scale has 7 notes: C, D, Eb, F#, G, Ab, B.
What chords are in the C Hungarian Minor Scale?
The chords of C Hungarian Minor are Cm (i), Ebaug (♭III+), G (V), Ab (♭VI), Bm (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 C Hungarian Minor on the guitar?
The root C is at fret 8 on the low E string and fret 3 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 8–12, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Hungarian Minor Scale in every key

More scales in C