Scales
A Neapolitan Major Scale
A · Bb · C · D · E · F# · G#
A Neapolitan Major is a scale built on A with the notes A · Bb · C · D · E · F# · G#.
A Neapolitan Major Scale
A · Bb · C · D · E · F# · G#
Fingering on the piano
| Hand | Fingering | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 | A · Bb · C · D · E · F# · G# · A | |
| Left hand | 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 | A · Bb · C · D · E · F# · G# · A |
One octave ascending; 1 is the thumb. A standard fingering, not the only one.
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Scale degrees
A Neapolitan Major is made of the notes A · Bb · C · D · E · F# · G#. Each is a degree counted from the tonic, and the gaps between them are the step pattern H W W W W W H.
Read on: scale degrees · building any scale
Chords in this key
Stacking thirds on each degree of A Neapolitan Major gives the chords of the key; the roman numeral names the degree each is built on.
Triads
Related scales
The scales A Neapolitan Major shares its notes with: the one it is a rotation of, the relative and parallel keys, the scales inside it and the ones that contain it.
Scales inside it
A Minor Sixth PentatonicA · C · D · E · F#
Every note of this scale is in A Neapolitan Major.
Scales that contain it
A Messiaen's Mode #7A · Bb · B · C · D · D# · E · F · F# · G#
Contains every note of A Neapolitan Major.
A ChromaticA · Bb · B · C · C# · D · Eb · E · F · F# · G · G#
Contains every note of A Neapolitan Major.
Common questions
- How do I play A Neapolitan Major?
- On guitar start with the 1st position, played from the lowest string upward; the instrument panel on this page shows its frets and the positions further up the neck. On the piano the right hand ascends 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5, with 1 as the thumb. Every position plays when you press it.
- What chords are in the key of A Neapolitan Major?
- Stacking thirds on each degree of A Neapolitan Major gives Am (i), Bbaug (II+), Caug (III+), D (IV), Emajb5 (V), F#dim (vi°), Bb7no5/G# (VII). These are the diatonic chords of the key, the ones a song in this key uses most; the harmony band on this page lists them with the seventh chords built the same way.
- What notes are in A Neapolitan Major?
- A Neapolitan Major contains the notes A · Bb · C · D · E · F# · G#, measured from the tonic A as the intervals 1P, 2m, 3m, 4P, 5P, 6M, 7M. Play them in order for the scale: every note on this page sounds when you tap it, and the step pattern under the degrees shows the distance from each note to the next.
- What is the formula of A Neapolitan Major?
- From A the steps run H W W W W W H, where a whole step is two frets or two keys and a half step one. Apply the same pattern from any other note and you get the same scale on that root, which is why every root of this scale has a page here.