STRINGSCALES

A♭ neapolitan major Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F, G, Ab, Bbb, Cb, Db, Eb at frets 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11

A string: Bbb, Cb, Db, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bbb at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12

D string: Eb, F, G, Ab, Bbb, Cb, Db at frets 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11

G string: G, Ab, Bbb, Cb, Db, Eb, F, G at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

B string: Cb, Db, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bbb, Cb at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12

High E string: F, G, Ab, Bbb, Cb, Db, Eb at frets 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11

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Ab neapolitan major

The neapolitan major scale is a melodic minor scale with a flat 2nd: only the opening half step is dark, and everything from the 4th up is pure major brightness. That lopsided design gives melodies a shadowed start and a radiant finish. It generates its own mode family, including the leading whole tone and major locrian scales.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

A♭

i

A♭m
B𝄫

bII+

B𝄫aug
C♭

bIII+

C♭aug
D♭

IV

D♭maj
E♭

V

E♭majb5
F

vi°

Fdim
G

VII

B𝄫7no5/G

Same notes, different mode

Ab neapolitan major uses the same notes as the scales below. Start from a different note and you get a new mode built on the very same note set.

A leading whole toneCb lydian augmented dominantDb lydian dominant b6Eb major locrianF half-diminished b4G altered dominant double b3

neapolitan major in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Dark start, bright finish: open phrases with the b2 (A) against the root, then climb into the pure-major top half (VI and VII).
  • Use it over a major chord approached from its Neapolitan (the bII (A) major triad); the scale bridges both harmonies.
  • Think melodic minor with a flat 2nd: your Ab melodic minor fingering needs only one altered note.
  • Write a two-bar phrase where bar one uses only root, b2 (A), b3 (B) and bar two only IV, V, VI, VII; the scale's split personality becomes the hook.

How to play A♭ neapolitan major on guitar

Open G rings as the major seventh, so it can hang below a fretted line without leaving the key. Open A reads as Bbb here and the open B string as Cb, which means three strings stay usable while five flats sit in the signature. Capo at fret 1 gives G shapes. Nearest root hides at fret 1, G string, so position one has an anchor well below fret 8.

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