STRINGSCALES

D neapolitan minor Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F, G, A, Bb, C#, D, Eb at frets 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11

A string: A, Bb, C#, D, Eb, F, G, A at frets 0, 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12

D string: D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb, C#, D at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12

G string: G, A, Bb, C#, D, Eb, F, G at frets 0, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12

B string: C#, D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb at frets 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11

High E string: F, G, A, Bb, C#, D, Eb at frets 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11

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D neapolitan minor

The neapolitan minor scale is harmonic minor with a flat 2nd: root, flat 2nd, flat 3rd, 4th, 5th, flat 6th, major 7th. It combines the phrygian half-step opening with the harmonic minor's dramatic leading tone, giving two strong pulls toward the root from both sides. Classical composers used its namesake Neapolitan chord for exactly this dark-to-resolution effect.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

D

i

Dm
E♭

bII

E♭maj
F

bIII+

Faug
G

iv

Gm
A

V

Amaj♭5
B♭

bVI

B♭maj
C♯

VII

E♭7no5/C#

Same notes, different mode

D neapolitan minor 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.

Eb lydian #6F mixolydian augmentedG romani minorA locrian dominantBb ionian major #2C# ultralocrian

neapolitan minor in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Two half-step magnets pull to the root: bII (Eb) from above... approach D from both directions in one phrase.
  • Use it over a minor chord when the bII (Eb) major triad (the Neapolitan chord) appears in the progression; the scale covers both.
  • Practice the augmented 2nd between b6 (Bb) and VII the same way you would in harmonic minor: as a deliberate expressive leap.
  • Compare against D harmonic minor in the same solo: only the 2nd changes, and that single flat is pure classical drama.

How to play D neapolitan minor on guitar

Open D is already a root, with open A a perfect fifth above it and open G a perfect fourth, so a three-string drone sits under the hand before anything gets fretted. Both E strings put a root at 10, the A string at 5. Two flats in the signature keep the reading light. Everything inside the first box lives below 14, which means one position covers the tonic, the fifth and the augmented second without a shift.

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