Neapolitan major scale in A
Neapolitan major scale in A: A, Bb, C, D, E, F# and G#, the degrees 1–b2–b3–4–5–6–7. Melodic minor with a b2: a dark start, a bright whole-step climb, the 'major' is in its 6th and 7th.
Despite the name, it starts out dark: both of its first steps are lowered, b2 and b3. The 'major' comes from the top half — a major 6th and 7th — which climbs in whole steps and brightens everything; you can think of it as the melodic minor with a lowered 2nd. That contrast gives it a curious sound: tight and shadowy at the start, open and almost floating at the end. Outside composition and analysis it's rare in everyday repertoire; when it appears, it serves minor chords with a major 7th and modern concert-and-film-score colors.
Example: A – Bb – C – D – E – F# – G#Formula: 1 – b2 – b3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7In the formula, the numbers are degrees — positions counted in the reference major scale; "b" lowers a half step and "#" raises one.
Family: Synthetic and specialized scales.
They appear in specific repertoires — concert music, film scores, modern jazz, regional traditions.
Chords in the harmonic field
These are the seven chords born from this scale — one built on each of its notes. Put another way: the set of chords that sounds naturally "inside" the scale. See the harmonic field of every key →
The same scale on all four instruments
In the diagrams, each dot carries its scale degree — 1 is the tonic, highlighted.