E♭ Hungarian major uses E♭, G♭, G, B♭♭, B♭, C, D♭. Its half-step clusters give it a tense, Eastern European flavour.
E♭ Hungarian major uses E♭, G♭, G, B♭♭, B♭, C, D♭. Its half-step clusters give it a tense, Eastern European flavour.
E♭ Hungarian major derives from E♭ acoustic by lowering the second degree to G♭ and adding G as a major third. The scale keeps the ♭7 D♭, so it functions as a dominant colour. Contrast with E♭ acoustic to hear the altered notes.
E♭ Hungarian major fits E♭ major and E♭ minor chords, adding a ♭5. Use it over E♭ major or E♭ minor in progressive rock. The scale's dual thirds allow bending between minor and major.
Practise Box 1 first; the root on string 5, fret 6 covers frets 2–5. This position places the half-step pairs under a compact hand span.
E♭ hungarian major in box 1 runs from fret 2 to fret 5, 15 notes across 6 strings, from G♭ on the low E string at fret 2 up to B♭♭ on the high e string at fret 5. The root falls on the B string at fret 4.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 2, 3, 5 | G♭, G, B♭♭ |
| 5 (A) | 3, 4 | C, D♭ |
| 4 (D) | 4, 5 | G♭, G |
| 3 (G) | 2, 3, 5 | B♭♭, B♭, C |
| 2 (B) | 2, 4 | D♭, E♭ |
| 1 (e) | 2, 3, 5 | G♭, G, B♭♭ |
E♭ hungarian major in box 2 runs from fret 5 to fret 8, 15 notes across 6 strings, from B♭♭ on the low E string at fret 5 up to C on the high e string at fret 8. The root falls on the A string at fret 6 and the G string at fret 8.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 5, 6, 8 | B♭♭, B♭, C |
| 5 (A) | 6 | E♭ |
| 4 (D) | 5, 7, 8 | G, B♭♭, B♭ |
| 3 (G) | 5, 6, 8 | C, D♭, E♭ |
| 2 (B) | 7, 8 | G♭, G |
| 1 (e) | 5, 6, 8 | B♭♭, B♭, C |
E♭ hungarian major in box 3 runs from fret 8 to fret 11, 16 notes across 6 strings, from C on the low E string at fret 8 up to E♭ on the high e string at fret 11. The root falls on the low E string at fret 11, the G string at fret 8 and the high e string at fret 11.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 8, 9, 11 | C, D♭, E♭ |
| 5 (A) | 9, 10 | G♭, G |
| 4 (D) | 8, 10, 11 | B♭, C, D♭ |
| 3 (G) | 8, 11 | E♭, G♭ |
| 2 (B) | 8, 10, 11 | G, B♭♭, B♭ |
| 1 (e) | 8, 9, 11 | C, D♭, E♭ |
E♭ hungarian major in box 4 runs from fret 11 to fret 14, 14 notes across 6 strings, from E♭ on the low E string at fret 11 up to G♭ on the high e string at fret 14. The root falls on the low E string at fret 11, the D string at fret 13 and the high e string at fret 11.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 11, 14 | E♭, G♭ |
| 5 (A) | 12, 13 | B♭♭, B♭ |
| 4 (D) | 11, 13 | D♭, E♭ |
| 3 (G) | 11, 12, 14 | G♭, G, B♭♭ |
| 2 (B) | 11, 13, 14 | B♭, C, D♭ |
| 1 (e) | 11, 14 | E♭, G♭ |
E♭ hungarian major, position 1 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭3 and runs from fret 1 to fret 7, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the D string at fret 1 and the B string at fret 4.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 2, 3, 5 | G♭, G, B♭♭ |
| 5 (A) | 1, 3, 4 | B♭, C, D♭ |
| 4 (D) | 1, 4, 5 | E♭, G♭, G |
| 3 (G) | 2, 3, 5 | B♭♭, B♭, C |
| 2 (B) | 2, 4, 7 | D♭, E♭, G♭ |
| 1 (e) | 3, 5, 6 | G, B♭♭, B♭ |
E♭ hungarian major, position 2 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the 3 and runs from fret 3 to fret 8, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 6 and the B string at fret 4.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 3, 5, 6 | G, B♭♭, B♭ |
| 5 (A) | 3, 4, 6 | C, D♭, E♭ |
| 4 (D) | 4, 5, 7 | G♭, G, B♭♭ |
| 3 (G) | 3, 5, 6 | B♭, C, D♭ |
| 2 (B) | 4, 7, 8 | E♭, G♭, G |
| 1 (e) | 5, 6, 8 | B♭♭, B♭, C |
E♭ hungarian major, position 3 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭5 and runs from fret 4 to fret 10, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 6 and the G string at fret 8.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 5, 6, 8 | B♭♭, B♭, C |
| 5 (A) | 4, 6, 9 | D♭, E♭, G♭ |
| 4 (D) | 5, 7, 8 | G, B♭♭, B♭ |
| 3 (G) | 5, 6, 8 | C, D♭, E♭ |
| 2 (B) | 7, 8, 10 | G♭, G, B♭♭ |
| 1 (e) | 6, 8, 9 | B♭, C, D♭ |
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 6 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 6, the G string at fret 8 and the high e string at fret 11.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 6, 8, 9 | B♭, C, D♭ |
| 5 (A) | 6, 9, 10 | E♭, G♭, G |
| 4 (D) | 7, 8, 10 | B♭♭, B♭, C |
| 3 (G) | 6, 8, 11 | D♭, E♭, G♭ |
| 2 (B) | 8, 10, 11 | G, B♭♭, B♭ |
| 1 (e) | 8, 9, 11 | C, D♭, E♭ |
E♭ hungarian major, position 5 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the 6 and runs from fret 8 to fret 14, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the low E string at fret 11, the G string at fret 8 and the high e string at fret 11.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 8, 9, 11 | C, D♭, E♭ |
| 5 (A) | 9, 10, 12 | G♭, G, B♭♭ |
| 4 (D) | 8, 10, 11 | B♭, C, D♭ |
| 3 (G) | 8, 11, 12 | E♭, G♭, G |
| 2 (B) | 10, 11, 13 | B♭♭, B♭, C |
| 1 (e) | 9, 11, 14 | D♭, E♭, G♭ |
E♭ hungarian major, position 6 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭7 and runs from fret 9 to fret 15, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the low E string at fret 11, the D string at fret 13 and the high e string at fret 11.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 9, 11, 14 | D♭, E♭, G♭ |
| 5 (A) | 10, 12, 13 | G, B♭♭, B♭ |
| 4 (D) | 10, 11, 13 | C, D♭, E♭ |
| 3 (G) | 11, 12, 14 | G♭, G, B♭♭ |
| 2 (B) | 11, 13, 14 | B♭, C, D♭ |
| 1 (e) | 11, 14, 15 | E♭, G♭, G |
E♭ hungarian major, position 7 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the root and runs from fret 11 to fret 17, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the low E string at fret 11, the D string at fret 13 and the B string at fret 16.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 11, 14, 15 | E♭, G♭, G |
| 5 (A) | 12, 13, 15 | B♭♭, B♭, C |
| 4 (D) | 11, 13, 16 | D♭, E♭, G♭ |
| 3 (G) | 12, 14, 15 | G, B♭♭, B♭ |
| 2 (B) | 13, 14, 16 | C, D♭, E♭ |
| 1 (e) | 14, 15, 17 | G♭, G, B♭♭ |
Every chord here uses only notes from the scale. Tap one to open it.
E♭ Hungarian major contains E♭, G♭, G, B♭♭, B♭, C, D♭. The scale has both a minor third and a major third. Its diminished fifth adds tension. It is also spelled D♯ in enharmonic notation for the same sounding root.
E♭ Hungarian major works over E♭ major and E♭ minor chords. The ♭5 creates a bluesy, altered sound. Use it for dominant or static harmony.
E♭ Hungarian major lowers the second degree to G♭ and adds G as a major third. E♭ acoustic uses F and G instead. The Hungarian major has a ♭3 and ♭5.