E♭ Hungarian major uses E♭, G♭, G, B♭♭, B♭, C, D♭. Box 1 places the root on string 3, fret 6 for a low position.
E♭ Hungarian major uses E♭, G♭, G, B♭♭, B♭, C, D♭. Box 1 places the root on string 3, fret 6 for a low position.
E♭ Hungarian major lowers the second degree of E♭ acoustic to G♭. Compare it to E♭ acoustic to hear the half-step shift. Intervals run 1, ♭3, 3, ♭5, 5, 6, ♭7, creating a major-minor hybrid. The ♭3 and 3 sit side by side, giving the scale its characteristic bite.
Use it over E♭ major or E♭ minor chords when you want a sharp, exotic color. The ♭5 adds tension over the tonic, and the ♭7 suits dominant sounds. Try it in fusion or progressive rock. See E♭ major and E♭ minor.
Practise Box 1 first. It covers frets 2–5 and keeps the root on string 3, fret 6, making it easy to anchor phrases.
E♭ hungarian major in box 1 runs from fret 2 to fret 5, 10 notes across 4 strings, from G♭ on the E string at fret 2 up to C on the G string at fret 5. No root falls inside this box; it sits between two of them.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 2, 3, 5 | G♭, G, B♭♭ |
| 3 (A) | 3, 4 | C, D♭ |
| 2 (D) | 4, 5 | G♭, G |
| 1 (G) | 2, 3, 5 | B♭♭, B♭, C |
E♭ hungarian major in box 2 runs from fret 5 to fret 8, 10 notes across 4 strings, from B♭♭ on the E string at fret 5 up to E♭ on the G string at fret 8. The root falls on the A string at fret 6 and the G string at fret 8.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 5, 6, 8 | B♭♭, B♭, C |
| 3 (A) | 6 | E♭ |
| 2 (D) | 5, 7, 8 | G, B♭♭, B♭ |
| 1 (G) | 5, 6, 8 | C, D♭, E♭ |
E♭ hungarian major in box 3 runs from fret 8 to fret 11, 10 notes across 4 strings, from C on the E string at fret 8 up to G♭ on the G string at fret 11. The root falls on the E string at fret 11 and the G string at fret 8.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 8, 9, 11 | C, D♭, E♭ |
| 3 (A) | 9, 10 | G♭, G |
| 2 (D) | 8, 10, 11 | B♭, C, D♭ |
| 1 (G) | 8, 11 | E♭, G♭ |
E♭ hungarian major in box 4 runs from fret 11 to fret 14, 9 notes across 4 strings, from E♭ on the E string at fret 11 up to B♭♭ on the G string at fret 14. The root falls on the E string at fret 11 and the D string at fret 13.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 11, 14 | E♭, G♭ |
| 3 (A) | 12, 13 | B♭♭, B♭ |
| 2 (D) | 11, 13 | D♭, E♭ |
| 1 (G) | 11, 12, 14 | G♭, G, B♭♭ |
E♭ hungarian major, position 1 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭3 and runs from fret 1 to fret 5, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the D string at fret 1.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 2, 3, 5 | G♭, G, B♭♭ |
| 3 (A) | 1, 3, 4 | B♭, C, D♭ |
| 2 (D) | 1, 4, 5 | E♭, G♭, G |
| 1 (G) | 2, 3, 5 | B♭♭, B♭, C |
E♭ hungarian major, position 2 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the 3 and runs from fret 3 to fret 7, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 6.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 3, 5, 6 | G, B♭♭, B♭ |
| 3 (A) | 3, 4, 6 | C, D♭, E♭ |
| 2 (D) | 4, 5, 7 | G♭, G, B♭♭ |
| 1 (G) | 3, 5, 6 | B♭, C, D♭ |
E♭ hungarian major, position 3 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭5 and runs from fret 4 to fret 9, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 6 and the G string at fret 8.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 5, 6, 8 | B♭♭, B♭, C |
| 3 (A) | 4, 6, 9 | D♭, E♭, G♭ |
| 2 (D) | 5, 7, 8 | G, B♭♭, B♭ |
| 1 (G) | 5, 6, 8 | C, D♭, E♭ |
E♭ hungarian major, position 4 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the 5 and runs from fret 6 to fret 11, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 6 and the G string at fret 8.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 6, 8, 9 | B♭, C, D♭ |
| 3 (A) | 6, 9, 10 | E♭, G♭, G |
| 2 (D) | 7, 8, 10 | B♭♭, B♭, C |
| 1 (G) | 6, 8, 11 | D♭, E♭, G♭ |
E♭ hungarian major, position 5 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the 6 and runs from fret 8 to fret 12, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the E string at fret 11 and the G string at fret 8.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 8, 9, 11 | C, D♭, E♭ |
| 3 (A) | 9, 10, 12 | G♭, G, B♭♭ |
| 2 (D) | 8, 10, 11 | B♭, C, D♭ |
| 1 (G) | 8, 11, 12 | E♭, G♭, G |
E♭ hungarian major, position 6 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭7 and runs from fret 9 to fret 14, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the E string at fret 11 and the D string at fret 13.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 9, 11, 14 | D♭, E♭, G♭ |
| 3 (A) | 10, 12, 13 | G, B♭♭, B♭ |
| 2 (D) | 10, 11, 13 | C, D♭, E♭ |
| 1 (G) | 11, 12, 14 | G♭, G, B♭♭ |
E♭ hungarian major, position 7 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the root and runs from fret 11 to fret 16, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the E string at fret 11 and the D string at fret 13.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 11, 14, 15 | E♭, G♭, G |
| 3 (A) | 12, 13, 15 | B♭♭, B♭, C |
| 2 (D) | 11, 13, 16 | D♭, E♭, G♭ |
| 1 (G) | 12, 14, 15 | G, B♭♭, B♭ |
Every chord here uses only notes from the scale. Tap one to open it.
E♭ Hungarian major has a ♭3 and ♭5 instead of the natural 3 and perfect 5. The ♭3 is G♭ and the ♭5 is B♭♭. These alterations give the scale its dark, exotic character. It is also spelled D♯ in enharmonic notation for the same sounding root.
Yes, the ♭3 fits the minor quality, but the major 3 adds dissonance. Use it briefly for color. The ♭5 also clashes with the perfect fifth in the chord.
The tonic chord can be E♭ major or E♭ minor. The scale also fits over G♭ major, G♭ minor, and G diminished. The ♭5 degree suggests a 7♭5 chord on B♭♭.