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B neapolitan major pentatonic Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F, A, B, D#, E at frets 0, 1, 5, 7, 11, 12

A string: A, B, D#, E, F, A at frets 0, 2, 6, 7, 8, 12

D string: D#, E, F, A, B at frets 1, 2, 3, 7, 9

G string: A, B, D#, E, F at frets 2, 4, 8, 9, 10

B string: B, D#, E, F, A, B at frets 0, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12

High E string: E, F, A, B, D#, E at frets 0, 1, 5, 7, 11, 12

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B 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:

B

I

D♯

III

E

IV

F

bV

A

bVII

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

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

How to play B neapolitan major pentatonic on guitar

Open B is the root and the A string plus both E strings also belong, so four of six ring inside the key. Root on the open B means a top-end anchor comes free, which lets you build phrases downward from it. Capo fret 2 and it maps onto A neapolitan major pentatonic. One sharp. Fretted roots run 2nd fret on the A, 4th on the G, 7th on the low E, so a target is never far.

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