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D neapolitan major pentatonic Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F#, G, Ab, C, D at frets 2, 3, 4, 8, 10

A string: C, D, F#, G, Ab at frets 3, 5, 9, 10, 11

D string: D, F#, G, Ab, C, D at frets 0, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12

G string: G, Ab, C, D, F#, G at frets 0, 1, 5, 7, 11, 12

B string: C, D, F#, G, Ab at frets 1, 3, 7, 8, 9

High E string: F#, G, Ab, C, D at frets 2, 3, 4, 8, 10

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D 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:

D

I

F♯

III

G

IV

A♭

bV

C

bVII

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

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

How to play D neapolitan major pentatonic on guitar

Open D is the tonic and open G is the fourth, so a two-string drone is available with no fingers down. Root on an open string puts position one at the nut, which lets you mix fretted notes with ringing ones freely. Next roots up: fret 3 on the B string, fret 5 on the A, fret 7 on the G. Lowest fretted root is fret 10 on the low E, so the box there closes at fret 14. One sharp.

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