Guitar scale · harmonic & melodic
Bb Neapolitan Minor Scale
Natural minor with a lowered 2nd and a raised 7th: a Phrygian scale with a leading tone.
Tap any note to hear it.
Bb Neapolitan Minor 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|--------------------------7-10-------| G|-------------------6-8-10------------| D|-------------7-8-9-------------------| A|-------6-8-9-------------------------| E|-6-7-9-------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------9-11-| B|----------------------------10-11-12------| G|--------------------8-10-11---------------| D|-------------8-9-11-----------------------| A|------8-9-12------------------------------| E|-9-11-------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------11-13-14-| B|----------------------------------11-12-14----------| G|-------------------------10-11-14-------------------| D|-------------------11-13----------------------------| A|----------12-13-14----------------------------------| E|-11-13-14-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------13-14-17-| B|-------------------------------------14-16----------| G|----------------------------14-15-16----------------| D|-------------------13-15-16-------------------------| A|----------13-14-16----------------------------------| E|-13-14-17-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------17-18-19-| B|----------------------------------16-18-19----------| G|-------------------------15-16-18-------------------| D|----------------15-16-19----------------------------| A|----------16-18-------------------------------------| E|-17-18-19-------------------------------------------|
How to play Bb Neapolitan Minor 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 | Gb |
| 7 | A |
Chords in Bb Neapolitan Minor
Stack every other note of the scale and you get these seven chords. They are the chords that sound "at home" in Bb Neapolitan Minor; tap one to see its shapes.
| Degree | Chord | 7th chord | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | Bbm | Bbm(maj7) | Tonic |
| ♭II | Cb | Cbmaj7 | Supertonic |
| ♭III+ | Dbaug | — | Mediant |
| iv | Ebm | Ebm7 | Subdominant |
| V | — | — | Dominant |
| ♭VI | Gb | Gbmaj7 | Submediant |
| VII | — | — | Leading tone / subtonic |
Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android
Practise Bb Neapolitan Minor anywhere, even offline.
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Questions
- What notes are in the Bb Neapolitan Minor Scale?
- The Bb Neapolitan Minor Scale has 7 notes: Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, F, Gb, A.
- What chords are in the Bb Neapolitan Minor Scale?
- The chords of Bb Neapolitan Minor are Bbm (i), Cb (♭II), Dbaug (♭III+), Ebm (iv), Gb (♭VI).
- What is the formula of the neapolitan minor scale?
- 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7, which is the step pattern H W W W H W+H H (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play Bb Neapolitan Minor 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.