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Guitar scale · exotic

D Hungarian Major Scale

1 ♯2 3 ♯4 5 6 ♭7: a scale with a major 3rd, a raised 2nd and a raised 4th, so it has an augmented 2nd from the root up to the ♯2.

Notes DE#F#G#ABC
Formula 1 ♯2 3 ♯4 5 6 ♭7
Steps W+H H W H W H W
Mood Exotic, Bright, Dramatic
Heard in Folk-inspired Music, Modal Improvisation

Interactive scale diagram

D Hungarian Major Scale · Standard tuning

STR OP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 E A D G B E

Tap any note to hear it.

D Hungarian Major Scale tab: all 5 positions

Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.

Position 1 · E shape frets 10–14
e|-------------------------------------------10-13-14-|
B|-------------------------------------12-13----------|
G|-------------------------10-11-13-14----------------|
D|-------------------10-12----------------------------|
A|----------11-12-14----------------------------------|
E|-10-13-14-------------------------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 12–16
e|-------------------------------------------13-14-16-|
B|-------------------------------------13-15----------|
G|----------------------------13-14-16----------------|
D|-------------------12-15-16-------------------------|
A|----------12-14-15----------------------------------|
E|-13-14-16-------------------------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 14–18
e|-------------------------------------------14-16-17-|
B|-------------------------------------15-18----------|
G|----------------------------14-16-17----------------|
D|-------------------15-16-18-------------------------|
A|----------14-15-17----------------------------------|
E|-14-16-17-------------------------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 17–21
e|-------------------------------------------17-19-20-|
B|----------------------------------18-19-21----------|
G|----------------------------17-19-------------------|
D|-------------------18-19-21-------------------------|
A|----------17-20-21----------------------------------|
E|-17-19-20-------------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 19–22
e|----------------------------------------19-20-22-|
B|-------------------------------19-21-22----------|
G|-------------------------19-22-------------------|
D|----------------19-21-22-------------------------|
A|----------20-21----------------------------------|
E|-19-20-22----------------------------------------|

How to play D Hungarian Major on guitar

Find the root first: D is at fret 10 on the low E string and fret 5 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every D on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (3, 5, ♭7), the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.

Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 10–14. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.

Degrees

DegreeNote
1 D
♯2 E#
3 F#
♯4 G#
5 A
6 B
♭7 C

Chords in D Hungarian Major

Stack every other note of the scale and you get these seven chords. They are the chords that sound "at home" in D Hungarian Major; tap one to see its shapes.

Degree Chord 7th chord Function
I D D7 Tonic
♯ii° E#dim E#dim7 Supertonic
iii° F#dim — Mediant
♯iv° G#dim G#m7b5 Subdominant
V — — Dominant
vi Bm Bm7 Submediant
♭VII — — Leading tone / subtonic

Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android

Practise D Hungarian Major anywhere, even offline.

This page is a small slice of Fretwise. The app adds practice: exercises that play as tab, a new routine every day, and the tools to tune and keep time. On iPhone, iPad and Android, no sign-up.

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  • Maqam & makam between the frets, and the Name the Note quiz

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Questions

What notes are in the D Hungarian Major Scale?
The D Hungarian Major Scale has 7 notes: D, E#, F#, G#, A, B, C.
What chords are in the D Hungarian Major Scale?
The chords of D Hungarian Major are D (I), E#dim (♯ii°), F#dim (iii°), G#dim (♯iv°), Bm (vi).
What is the formula of the hungarian major scale?
1 ♯2 3 ♯4 5 6 ♭7, which is the step pattern W+H H W H W H W (W = whole step, H = half step).
Where do I play D Hungarian Major on the guitar?
The root D is at fret 10 on the low E string and fret 5 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 10–14, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Hungarian Major Scale in every key

More scales in D