Gypsy Scale - Minor Gypsy Scale

Minor Gypsy Scale

The minor Gypsy scale, technically known as the double harmonic scale and popularly called the Spanish Gypsy scale, is a scale that may be played on the (modern) "white keys" of a piano from E to E, except that the G and D are sharpened to the (modern) "black keys" G♯ and D♯. The Spanish Gypsy scale is an alteration of the fifth mode of harmonic minor, or Phrygian dominant scale. The Phrygian dominant is altered to become the Spanish Gypsy scale by the raising of the 7th scale degree. This scale can then readily be altered to the Neapolitan minor scale by the lowering of the third degree.

The sequence of steps constituting the Spanish Gypsy Scale is:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
C D♭ E F G A♭ B C
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
H A H W H A H

(H = half; W = whole; A = augmented)