B♭ Neapolitan minorScale

Formula

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

B♭ Neapolitan minor on the chromatic circle

B♭ 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 B♭I Neapolitan minor ♭2 C♭II ♭3 D♭III 4 E♭IV 5 FV ♭6 G♭VI 7 AVII B♭ Neapolitan minor
The whole neck

B♭ 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 7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 ♭2 4 5 ♭6 7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 1 ♭2 ♭3 5 ♭6 7 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6
Harmony

Chords in B♭ 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
iB♭m(maj7)B♭ D♭ F A
♭IIC♭maj7C♭ E♭ G♭ B♭
♭III+D♭7♯5D♭ F A C♭
ivE♭m7E♭ G♭ B♭ D♭
VF7♭5F A C♭ E♭
♭VIG♭maj7G♭ B♭ D♭ F
VII A (𝄫3 ♭5 𝄫7) A C♭ E♭ G♭
Context

Where B♭ 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

B♭ Neapolitan minor scale questions

What notes are in the B♭ Neapolitan minor scale?

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

What is the B♭ 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 B♭ Neapolitan minor scale on guitar?

This page draws every note of B♭ 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 A shape to the G shape to the E shape to the D shape to the C shape.

What chords are in the B♭ Neapolitan minor scale?

B♭m(maj7) (i), C♭maj7 (♭II), D♭7♯5 (♭III+), E♭m7 (iv), F7♭5 (V), G♭maj7 (♭VI), A (𝄫3 ♭5 𝄫7) (VII).

When is the B♭ Neapolitan minor scale used?

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