A♭ Hungarian Gypsy uses A♭, B♭, C♭, D, E♭, F♭, G♭. The raised 4th D gives this scale its characteristic bite.
A♭ Hungarian Gypsy uses A♭, B♭, C♭, D, E♭, F♭, G♭. The raised 4th D gives this scale its characteristic bite.
A♭ Hungarian Gypsy is A♭ natural minor with a raised 4th, D instead of D♭. The scale contains a tritone between A♭ and D, and no leading tone. Compare it with A♭ natural minor to hear the difference.
A♭ Hungarian Gypsy fits A♭ minor and A♭ 5th chords. Use it over A♭ minor progressions for a Gypsy jazz or Eastern European feel. The ♯4 adds tension over A♭ 5th.
Practise Box 1 first; its roots on strings 6, 3, and 1 anchor the low, middle, and high registers.
A♭ hungarian gypsy in box 1 runs from fret 0 to fret 3, 13 notes across 6 strings, from F♭ on the low E string at fret 0 up to G♭ on the high e string at fret 2. The root falls on the G string at fret 1.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 0, 2 | F♭, G♭ |
| 5 (A) | 1, 2 | B♭, C♭ |
| 4 (D) | 0, 1, 2 | D, E♭, F♭ |
| 3 (G) | 1, 3 | A♭, B♭ |
| 2 (B) | 0, 3 | C♭, D |
| 1 (e) | 0, 2 | F♭, G♭ |
A♭ hungarian gypsy in box 2 runs from fret 2 to fret 5, 13 notes across 6 strings, from G♭ on the low E string at fret 2 up to A♭ on the high e string at fret 4. The root falls on the low E string at fret 4 and the high e string at fret 4.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 2, 4 | G♭, A♭ |
| 5 (A) | 2, 5 | C♭, D |
| 4 (D) | 2, 4 | F♭, G♭ |
| 3 (G) | 3, 4 | B♭, C♭ |
| 2 (B) | 3, 4, 5 | D, E♭, F♭ |
| 1 (e) | 2, 4 | G♭, A♭ |
A♭ hungarian gypsy in box 3 runs from fret 4 to fret 7, 16 notes across 6 strings, from A♭ on the low E string at fret 4 up to C♭ on the high e string at fret 7. The root falls on the low E string at fret 4, the D string at fret 6 and the high e string at fret 4.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 4, 6, 7 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 5 (A) | 5, 6, 7 | D, E♭, F♭ |
| 4 (D) | 4, 6 | G♭, A♭ |
| 3 (G) | 4, 7 | C♭, D |
| 2 (B) | 4, 5, 7 | E♭, F♭, G♭ |
| 1 (e) | 4, 6, 7 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
A♭ hungarian gypsy in box 4 runs from fret 6 to fret 9, 15 notes across 6 strings, from B♭ on the low E string at fret 6 up to C♭ on the high e string at fret 7. The root falls on the D string at fret 6 and the B string at fret 9.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 6, 7 | B♭, C♭ |
| 5 (A) | 6, 7, 9 | E♭, F♭, G♭ |
| 4 (D) | 6, 8, 9 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 3 (G) | 7, 8, 9 | D, E♭, F♭ |
| 2 (B) | 7, 9 | G♭, A♭ |
| 1 (e) | 6, 7 | B♭, C♭ |
A♭ hungarian gypsy in box 5 runs from fret 10 to fret 13, 14 notes across 6 strings, from D on the low E string at fret 10 up to F♭ on the high e string at fret 12. The root falls on the A string at fret 11 and the G string at fret 13.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 10, 11, 12 | D, E♭, F♭ |
| 5 (A) | 11, 13 | A♭, B♭ |
| 4 (D) | 12, 13 | D, E♭ |
| 3 (G) | 11, 13 | G♭, A♭ |
| 2 (B) | 11, 12 | B♭, C♭ |
| 1 (e) | 10, 11, 12 | D, E♭, F♭ |
A♭ hungarian gypsy, position 1 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭6 and runs from fret 0 to fret 6, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the low E string at fret 4, the G string at fret 1 and the high e string at fret 4.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 0, 2, 4 | F♭, G♭, A♭ |
| 5 (A) | 1, 2, 5 | B♭, C♭, D |
| 4 (D) | 1, 2, 4 | E♭, F♭, G♭ |
| 3 (G) | 1, 3, 4 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 2 (B) | 3, 4, 5 | D, E♭, F♭ |
| 1 (e) | 2, 4, 6 | G♭, A♭, B♭ |
A♭ hungarian gypsy, position 2 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭7 and runs from fret 2 to fret 7, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the low E string at fret 4, the D string at fret 6 and the high e string at fret 4.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 2, 4, 6 | G♭, A♭, B♭ |
| 5 (A) | 2, 5, 6 | C♭, D, E♭ |
| 4 (D) | 2, 4, 6 | F♭, G♭, A♭ |
| 3 (G) | 3, 4, 7 | B♭, C♭, D |
| 2 (B) | 4, 5, 7 | E♭, F♭, G♭ |
| 1 (e) | 4, 6, 7 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
A♭ hungarian gypsy, position 3 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the root and runs from fret 4 to fret 10, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the low E string at fret 4, the D string at fret 6 and the B string at fret 9.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 4, 6, 7 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 5 (A) | 5, 6, 7 | D, E♭, F♭ |
| 4 (D) | 4, 6, 8 | G♭, A♭, B♭ |
| 3 (G) | 4, 7, 8 | C♭, D, E♭ |
| 2 (B) | 5, 7, 9 | F♭, G♭, A♭ |
| 1 (e) | 6, 7, 10 | B♭, C♭, D |
A♭ hungarian gypsy, position 4 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the 2 and runs from fret 6 to fret 11, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the D string at fret 6 and the B string at fret 9.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 6, 7, 10 | B♭, C♭, D |
| 5 (A) | 6, 7, 9 | E♭, F♭, G♭ |
| 4 (D) | 6, 8, 9 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 3 (G) | 7, 8, 9 | D, E♭, F♭ |
| 2 (B) | 7, 9, 11 | G♭, A♭, B♭ |
| 1 (e) | 7, 10, 11 | C♭, D, E♭ |
A♭ hungarian gypsy, position 5 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭3 and runs from fret 7 to fret 12, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 11 and the B string at fret 9.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 7, 10, 11 | C♭, D, E♭ |
| 5 (A) | 7, 9, 11 | F♭, G♭, A♭ |
| 4 (D) | 8, 9, 12 | B♭, C♭, D |
| 3 (G) | 8, 9, 11 | E♭, F♭, G♭ |
| 2 (B) | 9, 11, 12 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 1 (e) | 10, 11, 12 | D, E♭, F♭ |
A♭ hungarian gypsy, position 6 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♯4 and runs from fret 9 to fret 15, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 11 and the G string at fret 13.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 10, 11, 12 | D, E♭, F♭ |
| 5 (A) | 9, 11, 13 | G♭, A♭, B♭ |
| 4 (D) | 9, 12, 13 | C♭, D, E♭ |
| 3 (G) | 9, 11, 13 | F♭, G♭, A♭ |
| 2 (B) | 11, 12, 15 | B♭, C♭, D |
| 1 (e) | 11, 12, 14 | E♭, F♭, G♭ |
A♭ hungarian gypsy, position 7 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the 5 and runs from fret 11 to fret 16, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 11, the G string at fret 13 and the high e string at fret 16.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 11, 12, 14 | E♭, F♭, G♭ |
| 5 (A) | 11, 13, 14 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 4 (D) | 12, 13, 14 | D, E♭, F♭ |
| 3 (G) | 11, 13, 15 | G♭, A♭, B♭ |
| 2 (B) | 12, 15, 16 | C♭, D, E♭ |
| 1 (e) | 12, 14, 16 | F♭, G♭, A♭ |
Every chord here uses only notes from the scale. Tap one to open it.
A♭ Hungarian Gypsy contains A♭, B♭, C♭, D, E♭, F♭, and G♭. The scale has a ♯4 and ♭6. It is spelled 1, 2, ♭3, ♯4, 5, ♭6, ♭7. It is also spelled G♯ in enharmonic notation for the same sounding root.
A♭ Hungarian Gypsy works over A♭ minor and A♭ 5th chords. The ♯4 adds a distinctive colour. Use it with A♭ minor progressions.
A♭ Hungarian Gypsy raises the 4th degree from D♭ to D. A♭ natural minor uses D♭. This change creates the scale's characteristic augmented second between C♭ and D.