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F♯ neapolitan major Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E#, F#, G, A, B, C#, D# at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11

A string: A, B, C#, D#, E#, F#, G, A at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12

D string: D#, E#, F#, G, A, B, C# at frets 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11

G string: G, A, B, C#, D#, E#, F#, G at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12

B string: B, C#, D#, E#, F#, G, A, B at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12

High E string: E#, F#, G, A, B, C#, D# at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11

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F# 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:

F♯

i

F♯m
G

bII+

Gaug
A

bIII+

Aaug
B

IV

Bmaj
C♯

V

C#maj♭5
D♯

vi°

D♯dim
E♯

VII

G7no5/E♯

Same notes, different mode

F# 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.

G leading whole toneA lydian augmented dominantB lydian dominant b6C# major locrianD# half-diminished b4E# 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 (G) 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 (G) major triad); the scale bridges both harmonies.
  • Think melodic minor with a flat 2nd: your F# melodic minor fingering needs only one altered note.
  • Write a two-bar phrase where bar one uses only root, b2 (G), b3 (A) and bar two only IV, V, VI, VII; the scale's split personality becomes the hook.

How to play F♯ neapolitan major on guitar

Open G, A and B all land in this key, so an F#m idea can lean on three unfretted strings. Capo fret 2 and the shapes read in E, which means four sharps become open-string territory. Both outer strings carry a root at fret 2. Position work opens up from fret 6, so the second shape is where most of the neck lives.

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