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 AI Neapolitan minor ♭2 B♭II ♭3 CIII 4 DIV 5 EV ♭6 FVI 7 G♯VII 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 5 ♭6 7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 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 5 ♭6 7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6
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
iAm(maj7)A C E G♯
♭IIB♭maj7B♭ D F A
♭III+C7♯5C E G♯ B♭
ivDm7D F A C
VE7♭5E G♯ B♭ D
♭VIFmaj7F 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?

Am(maj7) (i), B♭maj7 (♭II), C7♯5 (♭III+), Dm7 (iv), E7♭5 (V), Fmaj7 (♭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.