STRINGSCALES

E♭ neapolitan major Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb, Fb at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12

A string: Bb, C, D, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab at frets 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11

D string: D, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, D at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

G string: Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb, Fb, Gb at frets 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11

B string: C, D, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb at frets 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11

High E string: Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb, Fb at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12

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Eb neapolitan major

The neapolitan major scale is a melodic minor scale with a flat 2nd: only the opening half step is dark, and everything from the 4th up is pure major brightness. That lopsided design gives melodies a shadowed start and a radiant finish. It generates its own mode family, including the leading whole tone and major locrian scales.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

E♭

i

E♭m
F♭

bII+

F♭aug
G♭

bIII+

G♭aug
A♭

IV

A♭maj
B♭

V

B♭majb5
C

vi°

Cdim
D

VII

F♭7no5/D

Same notes, different mode

Eb neapolitan major 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.

Fb leading whole toneGb lydian augmented dominantAb lydian dominant b6Bb major locrianC half-diminished b4D altered dominant double b3

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

tip
  • Dark start, bright finish: open phrases with the b2 (E) against the root, then climb into the pure-major top half (VI and VII).
  • Use it over a major chord approached from its Neapolitan (the bII (E) major triad); the scale bridges both harmonies.
  • Think melodic minor with a flat 2nd: your Eb melodic minor fingering needs only one altered note.
  • Write a two-bar phrase where bar one uses only root, b2 (E), b3 (Gb) and bar two only IV, V, VI, VII; the scale's split personality becomes the hook.

How to play E♭ neapolitan major on guitar

Root sits at fret 1 of the D string, so the opening shape stays near the nut. Both E strings read as Fb in this key and open D is the major seventh, which means three strings can ring behind the shape. Five flats, capo at fret 1 for D. Position one keeps going to fret 15, so shifts are rare inside the first shape.

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