Also written Hungarian Minor, Nawa Athar or Nihavent
E♭ gypsy minor runs E♭, F, G♭, B♭♭, B♭, C♭, D. Box 1 anchors the root on string 3, fret 3 for a compact shape.
Form it from E♭ harmonic minor by lowering the fourth degree A♭ to B♭♭, creating a 1½-step gap between G♭ and B♭♭. The scale degrees are 1, 2, ♭3, ♭5, 5, ♭6, 7. This alteration yields the signature augmented-second leap. Compare with E♭ harmonic minor to hear the difference.
E♭ gypsy minor works over E♭ minor or E♭ 5th chords for an exotic, tense sound. Use it over a E♭ minor vamp to highlight the augmented second. It fits progressive metal, fusion, and Middle Eastern–flavoured lines. The major seventh D resolves strongly to E♭.
Learn Box 1 first. It places the root on string 3, fret 3 and covers frets 3–6, which is good for developing finger independence in the low register.
E♭ gypsy minor in box 1 runs from fret 3 to fret 6, 9 notes across 4 strings, from E♭ on the C string at fret 3 up to E♭ on the A string at fret 6. The root falls on the C string at fret 3 and the A string at fret 6.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (G) | 3, 4 | B♭, C♭ |
| 3 (C) | 3, 5, 6 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 2 (E) | 5, 6 | B♭♭, B♭ |
| 1 (A) | 5, 6 | D, E♭ |
E♭ gypsy minor in box 2 runs from fret 5 to fret 8, 10 notes across 4 strings, from F on the C string at fret 5 up to F on the A string at fret 8. The root falls on the G string at fret 8 and the A string at fret 6.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (G) | 7, 8 | D, E♭ |
| 3 (C) | 5, 6 | F, G♭ |
| 2 (E) | 5, 6, 7 | B♭♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 1 (A) | 5, 6, 8 | D, E♭, F |
E♭ gypsy minor in box 3 runs from fret 9 to fret 12, 9 notes across 4 strings, from B♭♭ on the C string at fret 9 up to B♭♭ on the A string at fret 12. The root falls on the E string at fret 11.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (G) | 10, 11 | F, G♭ |
| 3 (C) | 9, 10, 11 | B♭♭, B♭, C♭ |
| 2 (E) | 10, 11 | D, E♭ |
| 1 (A) | 9, 12 | G♭, B♭♭ |
Every chord here uses only notes from the scale. Tap one to open it.
The notes are E♭, F, G♭, B♭♭, B♭, C♭, and D. B♭♭ is the same pitch as A. The scale has a minor third, flat fifth, and major seventh. It is also spelled D♯ in enharmonic notation for the same sounding root.
E♭ gypsy minor fits E♭ minor and E♭ 5th chords. The scale contains a minor third and perfect fifth, so it works over a minor tonic. The flat fifth adds tension.
E♭ gypsy minor lowers the fourth degree from A♭ to B♭♭ compared to E♭ harmonic minor. This creates an augmented second between G♭ and B♭♭. The rest of the notes are identical.