music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

, the major Neapolitan scale and the minor Neapolitan scale are two

musical scale In music theory, a scale is "any consecutive series of notes that form a progression between one note and its octave", typically by order of pitch or fundamental frequency. The word "scale" originates from the Latin ''scala'', which literal ...

s. Both scales are

minor Minor may refer to: Common meanings * Minor (law), a person not under the age of certain legal activities. * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Mathematics * Minor (graph theory), a relation of one graph to an ...

, in that they both contain a

minor third In music theory, a minor third is a interval (music), musical interval that encompasses three half steps, or semitones. Staff notation represents the minor third as encompassing three staff positions (see: interval (music)#Number, interval numb ...

above the root. The major and minor Neapolitan scales are instead differentiated by the quality of their sixth. The sequence of scale steps for the Neapolitan minor is as follows: : And for the Neapolitan major: : The scales are distinguished from the

harmonic In physics, acoustics, and telecommunications, a harmonic is a sinusoidal wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'' of a periodic signal. The fundamental frequency is also called the ''1st har ...

and ascending

melodic minor scale A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term c ...

s by the lowered

supertonic In music, the supertonic is the second degree () of a diatonic scale, one whole step above the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the supertonic note is sung as ''re''. The triad built on the supertonic note is called the supertonic ...

or second scale degree. This could also be known as the "Phrygian harmonic minor" or "Phrygian melodic minor." The scale therefore shares with the Phrygian mode the property of having a

minor second A semitone, also called a minor second, half step, or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between ...

above the tonic. Both are accompanied well by

power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...

minor chord In music theory, a minor chord is a chord that has a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord comprises only these three notes, it is called a minor triad. For example, the minor triad built on A, called an A minor triad, has pit ...

s. The 4th mode of the Neapolitan major, also known as the Lydian Dominant 6 scale, is an excellent choice for the Said mode contains all the alterations plus the 5. A whole tone scale is often used but that mode tends to be minus the 5 that the Lydian Minor contains. The 5th mode of the Neapolitan major is also known as the

major Locrian scale In music, the major Locrian scale, also called the ''Locrian major scale'', is the scale obtained by sharpening the second and third notes of the diatonic Locrian mode. With a tonic of C, it consists of the notes C D E F G A B. It can be described ...

Modes

The scale contains the following modes: ' '' : : Notes : :** While this triad consisted of 1, 4 (~3), and 5 notes, this is not really a normal triad since no use of 3rd-grade notes (in B : D or D/E). Instead, this triad more likely shaped as sus4 triad (although 4 is enharmonic to 3). :*** 7 enharmonic to 6, so the 6th chords is available instead of 7th (thus being used here). :**** These chords can actually be respelled as 7alt (the 75 is one of the altered dominant chords).

Sources

External links

{{scales Heptatonic scales Musical scales Tritonic scales Hemitonic scales

Modes

See also

Sources

Further reading

External links