C Neapolitan majorScale

Formula

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

C Neapolitan major on the chromatic circle

C 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 CI Neapolitan major ♭2 D♭II ♭3 E♭III 4 FIV 5 GV 6 AVI 7 BVII C Neapolitan major
The whole neck

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

Chords in C 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
iCm(maj7)C E♭ G B
♭II+D♭maj7♯5D♭ F A C
♭III+E♭7♯5E♭ G B D♭
IVF7F A C E♭
VG7♭5G B D♭ F
vi°Am7♭5A C E♭ G
VII B (𝄫3 ♭5 ♭7) B D♭ F A
Context

Where C 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

C Neapolitan major scale questions

What notes are in the C Neapolitan major scale?

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

What is the C 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 C Neapolitan major scale on guitar?

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

What chords are in the C Neapolitan major scale?

Cm(maj7) (i), D♭maj7♯5 (♭II+), E♭7♯5 (♭III+), F7 (IV), G7♭5 (V), Am7♭5 (vi°), B (𝄫3 ♭5 ♭7) (VII).

When is the C 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.