Guitar scale · harmonic & melodic
Bb Neapolitan Major Scale
Melodic minor with a lowered 2nd: 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 6 7.
Tap any note to hear it.
Bb Neapolitan Major Scale tab: all 5 positions
Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.
e|--------------------------------6-7-9-| B|---------------------------8-10-------| G|--------------------6-8-10------------| D|--------------7-8-9-------------------| A|-------6-8-10-------------------------| E|-6-7-9--------------------------------|
e|--------------------------------------9-11-| B|-----------------------------10-11-12------| G|---------------------8-10-12---------------| D|--------------8-9-11-----------------------| A|------8-10-12------------------------------| E|-9-11--------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------11-13-| B|----------------------------------11-12-14-------| G|-------------------------10-12-14----------------| D|-------------------11-13-------------------------| A|-------10-12-13-14-------------------------------| E|-11-13-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------13-15-17-| B|-------------------------------------14-16----------| G|----------------------------14-15-16----------------| D|-------------------13-15-17-------------------------| A|----------13-14-16----------------------------------| E|-13-15-17-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------15-17-18-19-| B|-------------------------------------16-18-------------| G|----------------------------15-16-18-------------------| D|-------------------15-17-19----------------------------| A|-------------16-18-------------------------------------| E|-15-17-18-19-------------------------------------------|
How to play Bb Neapolitan Major on guitar
Find the root first: Bb is at fret 6 on the low E string and fret 1 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Bb on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (♭3, 5, 7), the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.
Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 6–10. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.
Degrees
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bb |
| ♭2 | Cb |
| ♭3 | Db |
| 4 | Eb |
| 5 | F |
| 6 | G |
| 7 | A |
Chords in Bb Neapolitan Major
Stack every other note of the scale and you get these seven chords. They are the chords that sound "at home" in Bb Neapolitan Major; tap one to see its shapes.
| Degree | Chord | 7th chord | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | Bbm | Bbm(maj7) | Tonic |
| ♭II+ | Cbaug | Cbmaj7#5 | Supertonic |
| ♭III+ | Dbaug | — | Mediant |
| IV | Eb | Eb7 | Subdominant |
| V | — | — | Dominant |
| vi° | Gdim | Gm7b5 | Submediant |
| VII | — | — | Leading tone / subtonic |
Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android
Practise Bb Neapolitan Major anywhere, even offline.
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Questions
- What notes are in the Bb Neapolitan Major Scale?
- The Bb Neapolitan Major Scale has 7 notes: Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, F, G, A.
- What chords are in the Bb Neapolitan Major Scale?
- The chords of Bb Neapolitan Major are Bbm (i), Cbaug (♭II+), Dbaug (♭III+), Eb (IV), Gdim (vi°).
- What is the formula of the neapolitan major scale?
- 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 6 7, which is the step pattern H W W W W W H (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play Bb Neapolitan Major on the guitar?
- The root Bb is at fret 6 on the low E string and fret 1 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 6–10, and four more positions connect it up the neck.