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Guitar scale · Gypsy minor

E Hungarian Minor Scale

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

Notes EF#GA#BCD#
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

E 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.

E 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 0–4
e|-----------------------------0-2-3-|
B|-------------------------1-4-------|
G|-------------------0-3-4-----------|
D|-------------1-2-4-----------------|
A|-------1-2-3-----------------------|
E|-0-2-3-----------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 2–6
e|-----------------------------2-3-6-|
B|-------------------------4-5-------|
G|-------------------3-4-5-----------|
D|-------------2-4-5-----------------|
A|-------2-3-6-----------------------|
E|-2-3-6-----------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 4–8
e|-----------------------------6-7-8-|
B|-----------------------5-7-8-------|
G|-----------------4-5-8-------------|
D|-----------4-5-8-------------------|
A|-------6-7-------------------------|
E|-6-7-8-----------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 7–11
e|----------------------------------7-8-11-|
B|-----------------------------8-11--------|
G|----------------------8-9-11-------------|
D|---------------8-9-10--------------------|
A|--------7-9-10---------------------------|
E|-7-8-11----------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 9–13
e|----------------------------------------11-12-|
B|-------------------------------11-12-13-------|
G|-----------------------9-11-12----------------|
D|---------------9-10-13------------------------|
A|-------9-10-13--------------------------------|
E|-11-12----------------------------------------|

How to play E Hungarian Minor on guitar

Find the root first: E is at fret 0 on the low E string and fret 7 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every E 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 0–4. 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 E
2 F#
♭3 G
♯4 A#
5 B
♭6 C
7 D#

Chords in E Hungarian Minor

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

Degree Chord 7th chord Function
i Em Em(maj7) Tonic
II — — Supertonic
♭III+ Gaug Gmaj7#5 Mediant
♯IV — — Subdominant
V B Bmaj7 Dominant
♭VI C Cmaj7 Submediant
vii D#m — Leading tone / subtonic

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Questions

What notes are in the E Hungarian Minor Scale?
The E Hungarian Minor Scale has 7 notes: E, F#, G, A#, B, C, D#.
What chords are in the E Hungarian Minor Scale?
The chords of E Hungarian Minor are Em (i), Gaug (♭III+), B (V), C (♭VI), D#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 E Hungarian Minor on the guitar?
The root E is at fret 0 on the low E string and fret 7 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 0–4, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Hungarian Minor Scale in every key

More scales in E