A Hungarian Minor
Harmonic minor with a second raised note, and two wide gaps.
Hungarian minor takes harmonic minor and raises the 4th as well. Where harmonic minor has one augmented second, this has two — which is why it sounds so much more distant than a normal minor scale.
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Two raised notes
A Hungarian minor is A B C D# E F G#. Compared with A harmonic minor (A B C D E F G#), the 4th is raised from D to D#. The 7th was already raised. Two alterations, two wide gaps.
- It is harmonic minor with a #4.
- The #4 (D#) and the natural 7 (G#) are the raised notes.
- C to D# and F to G# are both augmented 2nds.
Why two gaps change everything
One augmented 2nd reads as a colour; two make the scale feel like it is built out of leaps instead of steps. Between them sits a symmetrical core (D# E F) that gives the scale its off-balance, unresolved quality.
- Two three-fret jumps in seven notes.
- Only three of the six steps are whole or half steps.
- The wide leaps are what make it sound non-Western.
Over a minor tonic, sparingly
It works over an Am or AmMaj7 chord — the raised 7th means it wants the major 7th in the chord. Use it as a colour over a static minor vamp rather than trying to run it through changes.
- Play it over Am or AmMaj7, not over Am7.
- A static minor pedal is the natural home for it.
- Neoclassical metal and Balkan folk both live here.
Raise the 4th of harmonic minor and you double the augmented seconds. That is the whole recipe for the sound.
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