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C neapolitan major pentatonic Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F, Gb, Bb, C, E at frets 0, 1, 2, 6, 8, 12

A string: Bb, C, E, F, Gb at frets 1, 3, 7, 8, 9

D string: E, F, Gb, Bb, C at frets 2, 3, 4, 8, 10

G string: Bb, C, E, F, Gb at frets 3, 5, 9, 10, 11

B string: C, E, F, Gb, Bb at frets 1, 5, 6, 7, 11

High E string: E, F, Gb, Bb, C, E at frets 0, 1, 2, 6, 8, 12

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C 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:

C

I

E

III

F

IV

G♭

bV

B♭

bVII

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

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

How to play C neapolitan major pentatonic on guitar

Both open E strings hold the major third of this key, so top and bottom of the guitar can ring against a fretted root. Nearest root sits at fret 1 on the B string, with another at fret 3 on the A, which means the whole first position has an anchor. Lowest root is fret 8. Shapes hung there stop at fret 12, so the second position picks up above it. Two flats in the signature.

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