STRINGSCALES

A neapolitan major Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F#, G#, A, Bb, C, D, E at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12

A string: A, Bb, C, D, E, F#, G#, A at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12

D string: D, E, F#, G#, A, Bb, C, D at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12

G string: G#, A, Bb, C, D, E, F# at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11

B string: C, D, E, F#, G#, A, Bb at frets 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11

High E string: E, F#, G#, A, Bb, C, D, E at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12

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A 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

Am
B♭

bII+

B♭aug
C

bIII+

Caug
D

IV

Dmaj
E

V

Emaj♭5
F♯

vi°

F♯dim
G♯

VII

B♭7no5/G#

Same notes, different mode

A 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.

Bb leading whole toneC lydian augmented dominantD lydian dominant b6E 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 (Bb) 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 (Bb) major triad); the scale bridges both harmonies.
  • Think melodic minor with a flat 2nd: your A melodic minor fingering needs only one altered note.
  • Write a two-bar phrase where bar one uses only root, b2 (Bb), b3 (C) 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 A supplies the root, and the fifth waits at either end of the string set, so an Am shape can ring with nothing fretted. Open D throws in the fourth, which means four strings belong to the key and the G and B strings do not. Both outer strings root at fret 5. Position one ends at fret 9, so anything above that belongs to the next grip.

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