music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

, 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
, 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
, 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 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).

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{{scales Heptatonic scales Musical scales Tritonic scales Hemitonic scales

Modes

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