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E neapolitan major pentatonic Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, G#, A, Bb, D, E at frets 0, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12

A string: A, Bb, D, E, G#, A at frets 0, 1, 5, 7, 11, 12

D string: D, E, G#, A, Bb, D at frets 0, 2, 6, 7, 8, 12

G string: G#, A, Bb, D, E at frets 1, 2, 3, 7, 9

B string: D, E, G#, A, Bb at frets 3, 5, 9, 10, 11

High E string: E, G#, A, Bb, D, E at frets 0, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12

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E 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:

E

I

G♯

III

A

IV

B♭

bV

D

bVII

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

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

How to play E neapolitan major pentatonic on guitar

Four open strings sit in E neapolitan major pentatonic, both E strings on the root plus the A and the D, so open-position playing needs almost nothing from the fretting hand. Root at fret 0 puts the first shape right at the nut, which means the lowest note on the guitar is already a tonic. Position one gives out at fret 4. Further roots wait at fret 2 on the D string and fret 5 on the B, so moving up keeps a reference under the fingers. One sharp.

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