B Neapolitan majorScale

Formula

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

B Neapolitan major on the chromatic circle

B Neapolitan major is one of the exotic scales. Pick another note on the circle to open the scale that starts there.

H W W W W W H 1 BI Neapolitan major ♭2 CII ♭3 DIII 4 EIV 5 F♯V 6 G♯VI 7 A♯VII B Neapolitan major
The whole neck

B Neapolitan major 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 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 4 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
Harmony

Chords in B Neapolitan major

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

DegreeChordNotes
iBm(maj7)B D F♯ A♯
♭II+Cmaj7♯5C E G♯ B
♭III+D7♯5D F♯ A♯ C
IVE7E G♯ B D
VF♯7♭5F♯ A♯ C E
vi°G♯m7♭5G♯ B D F♯
VII A♯ (𝄫3 ♭5 ♭7) A♯ C E G♯
Context

Where B Neapolitan major fits

A minor 3rd under a major upper half, with a ♭2: rare, used for colour in classical music and modern jazz.

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

Neapolitan major scale in every key

B Neapolitan major scale questions

What notes are in the B Neapolitan major 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 major scale formula?

1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 6 7, or in steps between the notes, H W W W W W 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 major scale on guitar?

This page draws every note of B Neapolitan major 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 major scale?

Bm(maj7) (i), Cmaj7♯5 (♭II+), D7♯5 (♭III+), E7 (IV), F♯7♭5 (V), G♯m7♭5 (vi°), A♯ (𝄫3 ♭5 ♭7) (VII).

When is the B Neapolitan major scale used?

A minor 3rd under a major upper half, with a ♭2: rare, used for colour in classical music and modern jazz.