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Hungarian minor scale

 

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Hungarian minor scale



 
 
The Hungarian minor scale is a type of combined musical scale
Musical scale

In music, a scale is a group of musical note collected in ascending and descending order that provides material for or is used to conveniently represent part or all of a musical work including melody and/or harmony....
. It is akin to the harmonic minor scale, except that it bears a raised fourth. Its tonal center is slightly ambiguous, due to the large number of half steps. Also known as Double Harmonic Minor, or Harmonic Minor ?4, it figures prominently in Eastern European music, particularly in gypsy music. Melodies based on this scale have an exotic, romantic flavor for listeners accustomed to more typical Western scales.

A Hungarian minor scale in the key of C would proceed as follows: C D E? F? G A? B.
Its step pattern is w - h - + - h - h - + - h, where w indicates a whole step, h indicates a half step, and + indicates an augmented second, which looks like a minor third on a keyboard but is notationally distinct.

Chords that may be derived from the scale are Cm, D7?5, Eb+, G, A?7 and Bm6.

This scale is obtainable from the *Arabic scale
Arabic scale

In music, the term Arabic scale refers to:*The double harmonic scale, a scale whose gaps evoking "exotic" music to Western listeners, though in actual Arabic music many scales are used....
 by starting from the fourth of that scale.






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Encyclopedia


The Hungarian minor scale is a type of combined musical scale
Musical scale

In music, a scale is a group of musical note collected in ascending and descending order that provides material for or is used to conveniently represent part or all of a musical work including melody and/or harmony....
. It is akin to the harmonic minor scale, except that it bears a raised fourth. Its tonal center is slightly ambiguous, due to the large number of half steps. Also known as Double Harmonic Minor, or Harmonic Minor ?4, it figures prominently in Eastern European music, particularly in gypsy music. Melodies based on this scale have an exotic, romantic flavor for listeners accustomed to more typical Western scales.

A Hungarian minor scale in the key of C would proceed as follows: C D E? F? G A? B.
Its step pattern is w - h - + - h - h - + - h, where w indicates a whole step, h indicates a half step, and + indicates an augmented second, which looks like a minor third on a keyboard but is notationally distinct.

Chords that may be derived from the scale are Cm, D7?5, Eb+, G, A?7 and Bm6.

This scale is obtainable from the *Arabic scale
Arabic scale

In music, the term Arabic scale refers to:*The double harmonic scale, a scale whose gaps evoking "exotic" music to Western listeners, though in actual Arabic music many scales are used....
 by starting from the fourth of that scale. Said another way, the C Hungarian minor scale is equivalent to the G Arabic scale.

Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini

Henry Mancini was an Academy Award winning American composer, Conducting and arranger. He is remembered particularly for being a composer of film and television scores....
's theme to the Pink Panther movies begins in Hungarian minor.

In Enix's video game The Illusion of Gaia, the flute melody found in the Inca Ruins uses the C Hungarian minor scale (a ?4 is used in the second phrase); this music is also quoted in the music of the Larai Cliff stage, transposed to D.

Joe Satriani
Joe Satriani

Joseph "Satch" Satriani is an United States multiple nominated Grammy Award multi-instrumentalist, best known as an instrumental rock guitarist....
 has composed several songs using the Hungarian minor scale, and film composer Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman

Daniel Robert "Danny" Elfman is an United States musician, who is famous for composing scores and songs for Tim Burton's films, composing "The Simpsons Theme," and leading the rock band Oingo Boingo as singer/songwriter from 1976 until its breakup in 1995....
 has frequently used it in his soundtrack work.

See also

  • Gypsy scale
    Gypsy scale

    The Gypsy scale, refers to a musical scale used in Roma people music....
  • Arabic scale
    Arabic scale

    In music, the term Arabic scale refers to:*The double harmonic scale, a scale whose gaps evoking "exotic" music to Western listeners, though in actual Arabic music many scales are used....