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A neapolitan major pentatonic Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: G, A, C#, D, Eb at frets 3, 5, 9, 10, 11

A string: A, C#, D, Eb, G, A at frets 0, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12

D string: D, Eb, G, A, C#, D at frets 0, 1, 5, 7, 11, 12

G string: G, A, C#, D, Eb, G at frets 0, 2, 6, 7, 8, 12

B string: C#, D, Eb, G, A at frets 2, 3, 4, 8, 10

High E string: G, A, C#, D, Eb at frets 3, 5, 9, 10, 11

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A neapolitan major pentatonic

The neapolitan major pentatonic is a five note extraction with root, major 3rd, 4th, flat 5th and flat 7th. The clash between the bright 3rd and the flat 5th gives it a wayward, unresolved character closer to a jazz altered sound than to a folk pentatonic. Use it as an angular color over dominant chords rather than as a home scale.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

A

I

C♯

III

D

IV

E♭

bV

G

bVII

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

tip
  • An off-kilter pentatonic: major 3rd (C#) beside a flat 5th (Eb); rock those two against each other as the hook.
  • Over a 7b5 chord on A, all five notes land; it is that chord's color in scale form.
  • Use the 4th (D) as the connective tone between the bright III and the dark b5 (Eb); it softens the leap.
  • Treat it as an effect scale: one phrase inside an otherwise plain solo reads as deliberate strangeness.

How to play A neapolitan major pentatonic on guitar

Open A is the root, with open D and open G also inside the key, so three strings ring in tune before the left hand does anything. Root on the open A string means a bass note is always there, which lets the fretting hand stay high on the neck. Two more roots land on the G string at fret 2 and the low E at fret 5. One sharp. Shapes anchored at fret 5 run out at fret 9, so the second position sits just above.

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