A flat Hungarian Minor Scale

1Composition: what it contains

A♭ – B♭ – C♭ – D – E♭ – F♭ – G

Formula

1 2 ♭3 ♯4 5 ♭6 7

Steps

W – H – W+H – H – H – W+H – H

Number of notes

7

Sharps and flats

5 ♭

Also called

Gypsy minor, double harmonic minor, harmonic minor ♯4

2Appearance: diagrams and sound

Tip: click any note, key or fret to hear it. Orange = root.

3Indications: what it is used for

Harmonic minor with a raised fourth (1-2-♭3-♯4-5-♭6-7). It is used in Romantic-era piano music evoking Hungarian or Roma styles, in neoclassical metal, film scores, fantasy game music and some jazz-fusion. It fits minor-major seventh chords, minor chords in a dramatic context, and progressions moving between i and the V chord. The ♯4 can also be used as an expressive leading tone to the fifth. Composers often reserve it for climactic passages or folk-dance sections where a strong, exotic minor colour is wanted.

4Dosage: how to practise it

Six to ten minutes daily at 60–90 BPM. Practise the two augmented seconds (♭3 to ♯4 and ♭6 to 7) separately until intonation and fingering are secure. Then play two octaves in eighth notes and triplets. Write two-bar motifs that emphasise ♯4-5 and 7-8 resolutions. On guitar, use three-notes-per-string patterns with wider stretches. On piano, practise hands separately first; the fingering around the two augmented seconds needs attention. Improvise over a minor-major seventh drone.

5Warnings and common mistakes

Use it as a colour, not as a key for an entire pop song: the two augmented seconds become clichéd fast. Do not confuse it with the double harmonic major scale, which has a flat second and a major third. The ♯4 must be spelled as a raised fourth, not a flat fifth, to keep the letter sequence. Over a plain minor seventh chord, the major seventh clashes with the chord's flat seventh.

6Interactions with chords, scales and keys

Chords of the scale (triads)

Chords of the scale (seventh chords)

Same notes, different starting point

• E flat Double Harmonic Major Scale

7Other presentations available

The same scale from every note

• C Hungarian Minor Scale
• C sharp Hungarian Minor Scale
• D Hungarian Minor Scale
• E flat Hungarian Minor Scale
• E Hungarian Minor Scale
• F Hungarian Minor Scale
• F sharp Hungarian Minor Scale
• G Hungarian Minor Scale
• A Hungarian Minor Scale
• B flat Hungarian Minor Scale
• B Hungarian Minor Scale

Other scales from the same note

• A flat Major Scale
• G sharp Natural Minor Scale
• A flat Harmonic Minor Scale
• A flat Melodic Minor Scale
• G sharp Dorian Mode
• G sharp Phrygian Mode
• A flat Lydian Mode
• A flat Mixolydian Mode
• G sharp Locrian Mode
• A flat Major Pentatonic Scale
• G sharp Minor Pentatonic Scale
• G sharp Blues Scale
• A flat Major Blues Scale
• A flat Whole Tone Scale
• A flat Half-Whole Diminished Scale
• G sharp Whole-Half Diminished Scale
• G sharp Phrygian Dominant Scale
• A flat Lydian Dominant Scale
• G sharp Altered Scale
• A flat Double Harmonic Major Scale
• A flat Bebop Dominant Scale