A♭ Neapolitan minorScale

Formula

H W W W H 1½ H 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7
The family

A♭ Neapolitan minor on the chromatic circle

A♭ Neapolitan minor is one of the exotic scales. Pick another note on the circle to open the scale that starts there.

H W W W H 1½ H 1 A♭I Neapolitan minor ♭2 B𝄫II ♭3 C♭III 4 D♭IV 5 E♭V ♭6 F♭VI 7 GVII A♭ Neapolitan minor
The whole neck

A♭ Neapolitan minor across the fretboard

Every note of the scale up to the 16th fret, named by its degree. The root is a ring. Step through the five CAGED positions one at a time in the scale library.

3 5 7 9 12 15 ♭6 7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 ♭2 ♭3 5 ♭6 7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭6 7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7
Harmony

Chords in A♭ Neapolitan minor

Stack every other note of the scale from each degree and you get its chords. Open any of them in the chord library.

DegreeChordNotes
iA♭m(maj7)A♭ C♭ E♭ G
♭IIB𝄫maj7B𝄫 D♭ F♭ A♭
♭III+C♭7♯5C♭ E♭ G B𝄫
ivD♭m7D♭ F♭ A♭ C♭
VE♭7♭5E♭ G B𝄫 D♭
♭VIF♭maj7F♭ A♭ C♭ E♭
VII G (𝄫3 ♭5 𝄫7) G B𝄫 D♭ F♭
Context

Where A♭ Neapolitan minor fits

Harmonic minor with a ♭2: classical and neoclassical music, a dark exotic minor.

Move one note by a half step and you get a different scale:

Neapolitan minor scale in every key

A♭ Neapolitan minor scale questions

What notes are in the A♭ Neapolitan minor scale?

A♭ B𝄫 C♭ D♭ E♭ F♭ G. As degrees from the root: 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7.

What is the A♭ Neapolitan minor scale formula?

1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7, or in steps between the notes, H W W W H 1½ H (W is a whole step of two frets, H a half step of one fret, 1½ three frets).

How do you play the A♭ Neapolitan minor scale on guitar?

This page draws every note of A♭ Neapolitan minor up to the 16th fret, each named by its degree with the root as a ring. To learn it a few frets at a time, open it in the scale library and step through its five CAGED positions, from the G shape to the E shape to the D shape to the C shape to the A shape.

What chords are in the A♭ Neapolitan minor scale?

A♭m(maj7) (i), B𝄫maj7 (♭II), C♭7♯5 (♭III+), D♭m7 (iv), E♭7♭5 (V), F♭maj7 (♭VI), G (𝄫3 ♭5 𝄫7) (VII).

When is the A♭ Neapolitan minor scale used?

Harmonic minor with a ♭2: classical and neoclassical music, a dark exotic minor.