
In
music, the major Neapolitan scale and the minor Neapolitan scale are two
musical scales. Both scales are
minor
Minor may refer to:
* Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities.
** A person who has not reached the age of majority
* Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education
Music theory
*Minor chord
** Barb ...
, in that they both contain the note a
minor third 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:
[Celentano, Dave (1991). ''Monster Scales and Modes'', p.44. Published by CentreStream. .][Burrows, Terry (1999). ''How to Read Music: Reading Music Made Simple'', p.90. .][Roth, Dana (2011). ''Encyclopedia of Scales and Modes for Electric Bass'', p.9. .][Blatter, Alfred (2012). ''Revisiting Music Theory: A Guide to the Practice'', p.87 & 89. .]
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
A B C D E F G A
C D E F G A B C">, W, W, W, H, WH, H
C D E F G A B C
And for the Neapolitan major:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
A B C D E F G A
C D E F G A B C">, W, W, W, W, W, H
C D E F G A B C
The scales are distinguished from the
harmonic
A harmonic is a wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'', the frequency of the original periodic signal, such as a sinusoidal wave. The original signal is also called the ''1st harmonic'', the ...
and ascending
melodic minor scales by the lowered
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 above the tonic.
Both are accompanied well by
power or
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 C, called a C minor triad, has pit ...
s.
The 4th mode of the Neapolitan major, also known as the Lydian Minor scale, is an excellent choice for the 911/13 (no 5) chord. 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.
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).
See also
*
Neapolitan chord
*
Neapolitan school
Sources
Further reading
* Hewitt, Michael. ''Musical Scales of the World'', . The Note Tree. 2013. .
External links
{{scales
Heptatonic scales
Musical scales
Tritonic scales
Hemitonic scales