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G neapolitan major pentatonic Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F, G, B, C, Db at frets 1, 3, 7, 8, 9

A string: B, C, Db, F, G at frets 2, 3, 4, 8, 10

D string: F, G, B, C, Db at frets 3, 5, 9, 10, 11

G string: G, B, C, Db, F, G at frets 0, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12

B string: B, C, Db, F, G, B at frets 0, 1, 2, 6, 8, 12

High E string: F, G, B, C, Db at frets 1, 3, 7, 8, 9

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G 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:

G

I

B

III

C

IV

D♭

bV

F

bVII

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

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

How to play G neapolitan major pentatonic on guitar

Open G is the root and open B is the major third, so two ringing strings already outline the tonic. Root on an open string means the G needs no finger for a home note, which lets you pedal it against fretted phrases. Fretted roots follow at fret 3 on the low E and fret 5 on the D. One flat. Boxes tied to that low root at fret 3 close at fret 7, so the neck opens up quickly above it.

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