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Guitar scale · Gypsy minor

D Hungarian Minor Scale

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

Notes DEFG#ABbC#
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

D 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.

D 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 10–14
e|-------------------------------------------10-12-13-|
B|-------------------------------------11-14----------|
G|----------------------------10-13-14----------------|
D|-------------------11-12-14-------------------------|
A|----------11-12-13----------------------------------|
E|-10-12-13-------------------------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 12–16
e|-------------------------------------------12-13-16-|
B|-------------------------------------14-15----------|
G|----------------------------13-14-15----------------|
D|-------------------12-14-15-------------------------|
A|----------12-13-16----------------------------------|
E|-12-13-16-------------------------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 14–18
e|-------------------------------------------16-17-18-|
B|----------------------------------15-17-18----------|
G|-------------------------14-15-18-------------------|
D|----------------14-15-18----------------------------|
A|----------16-17-------------------------------------|
E|-16-17-18-------------------------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 17–21
e|-------------------------------------------17-18-21-|
B|-------------------------------------18-21----------|
G|----------------------------18-19-21----------------|
D|-------------------18-19-20-------------------------|
A|----------17-19-20----------------------------------|
E|-17-18-21-------------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 19–22
e|----------------------------------21-22-|
B|----------------------------21-22-------|
G|-------------------19-21-22-------------|
D|-------------19-20----------------------|
A|-------19-20----------------------------|
E|-21-22----------------------------------|

How to play D Hungarian Minor on guitar

Find the root first: D is at fret 10 on the low E string and fret 5 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every D 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 10–14. 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 D
2 E
♭3 F
♯4 G#
5 A
♭6 Bb
7 C#

Chords in D Hungarian Minor

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

Degree Chord 7th chord Function
i Dm Dm(maj7) Tonic
II — — Supertonic
♭III+ Faug Fmaj7#5 Mediant
♯IV — — Subdominant
V A Amaj7 Dominant
♭VI Bb Bbmaj7 Submediant
vii C#m — Leading tone / subtonic

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Questions

What notes are in the D Hungarian Minor Scale?
The D Hungarian Minor Scale has 7 notes: D, E, F, G#, A, Bb, C#.
What chords are in the D Hungarian Minor Scale?
The chords of D Hungarian Minor are Dm (i), Faug (♭III+), A (V), Bb (♭VI), C#m (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 D Hungarian Minor on the guitar?
The root D is at fret 10 on the low E string and fret 5 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 10–14, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Hungarian Minor Scale in every key

More scales in D