Also written Hungarian Minor, Nawa Athar or Nihavent
A♭ gypsy minor runs A♭, B♭, C♭, E♭♭, E♭, F♭, G. Box 1 anchors the root on string 4, fret 1 for a low, dark start.
Derive it from A♭ harmonic minor by lowering the fourth degree D♭ to E♭♭, which creates a 1½-step interval between C♭ and E♭♭. The degrees are 1, 2, ♭3, ♭5, 5, ♭6, 7. This change produces the characteristic augmented-second colour. Compare with A♭ harmonic minor to hear the shift.
A♭ gypsy minor suits A♭ minor or A♭ 5th chords in dark, dramatic contexts. Use it over a A♭ minor vamp to bring out the augmented second. It works in gypsy jazz, metal, and film-score tension. The major seventh G leads strongly back to A♭.
Practise Box 1 first. It places the root on string 4, fret 1 and covers frets 2–5, giving you a low position that connects easily to open chords.
A♭ gypsy minor in box 1 runs from fret 2 to fret 5, 9 notes across 4 strings, from E♭♭ on the C string at fret 2 up to E♭♭ on the A string at fret 5. The root falls on the E string at fret 4.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (G) | 3, 4 | B♭, C♭ |
| 3 (C) | 2, 3, 4 | E♭♭, E♭, F♭ |
| 2 (E) | 3, 4 | G, A♭ |
| 1 (A) | 2, 5 | C♭, E♭♭ |
A♭ gypsy minor in box 2 runs from fret 4 to fret 7, 10 notes across 4 strings, from F♭ on the C string at fret 4 up to F♭ on the A string at fret 7. The root falls on the E string at fret 4.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (G) | 4, 7 | C♭, E♭♭ |
| 3 (C) | 4, 7 | F♭, G |
| 2 (E) | 4, 6, 7 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 1 (A) | 5, 6, 7 | E♭♭, E♭, F♭ |
A♭ gypsy minor in box 3 runs from fret 8 to fret 11, 9 notes across 4 strings, from A♭ on the C string at fret 8 up to A♭ on the A string at fret 11. The root falls on the C string at fret 8 and the A string at fret 11.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (G) | 8, 9 | E♭, F♭ |
| 3 (C) | 8, 10, 11 | A♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 2 (E) | 10, 11 | E♭♭, E♭ |
| 1 (A) | 10, 11 | G, A♭ |
A♭ gypsy minor in box 4 runs from fret 10 to fret 12, 8 notes across 4 strings, from B♭ on the C string at fret 10 up to A♭ on the A string at fret 11. The root falls on the A string at fret 11.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (G) | 12 | G |
| 3 (C) | 10, 11 | B♭, C♭ |
| 2 (E) | 10, 11, 12 | E♭♭, E♭, F♭ |
| 1 (A) | 10, 11 | G, A♭ |
Every chord here uses only notes from the scale. Tap one to open it.
The notes are A♭, B♭, C♭, E♭♭, E♭, F♭, and G. E♭♭ is the same pitch as D. The scale has a minor third, flat fifth, and major seventh. It is also spelled G♯ in enharmonic notation for the same sounding root.
A♭ gypsy minor fits A♭ minor and A♭ 5th chords. The scale contains a minor third and perfect fifth, so it works over a minor tonic. The flat fifth adds tension.
A♭ gypsy minor lowers the fourth degree from D♭ to E♭♭ compared to A♭ harmonic minor. This creates an augmented second between C♭ and E♭♭. The other notes remain the same.