Spanish Gypsy - Extended

This scale invokes a Middle Eastern feel. It is an “extended” scale because it uses one note in the upper register - a note which is reliable on many Native Flutes. You can actually use either of several notes in this scale as the tonal center. This scale which goes by many names in different music circles (see below) it is often used in Klezmer music.

SNAFT Format

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Full Name: Mode 1 Split Spanish Gypsy - Extended

Other Names:

• Phrygian Dominant
• Ahaba Rabba (also spelled Ahava Rabba)
• Jewish (Freygish) Scale
• Neopolitan Minor

Scale Steps

The first two scales steps of the Spanish Gypsy scale are scale 1-3. A note one semitone above the root note on a Native American flute would have to be fingered as , and that fingering does not produce a pleasing note on most Native American flutes. So, we improvise.

If a scale uses the minor second (one semitone above the root note), I generally move that note and play it up in the second register. The fingering works on many Native American flutes to get you the minor ninth, which is an octave above the minor second. The minor ninth can typically be worked into your melody to give the same feel as the minor second.

So, when a scale calls for scale steps of 1-3, I tend to use an initial interval of four semitones, add the minor ninth to the scale, and write the initial interval as 4(1+3):

Scale steps: 4(1+3) - 1 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 1

Sound Samples

Here's a sample of the basic scale as well as a woven scale on an E minor Native American flute:

Woven Spanish Gypsy Scale

Clint Goss. E minor flute of Spalted Maple by Barry Higgins.

Nakai Tablature and Notes

Possible Alternate Fingerings on Six-Hole Flutes

Possible Alternate Fingerings on Five-Hole Flutes

Woven Scale Exercise