C Neapolitan Major Pentatonic Guitar Scale
Guitar scale in Double Drop D tuning — fretboard diagram
C Neapolitan Major Pentatonic in Double Drop D — Notes and Intervals
The C Neapolitan Major Pentatonic scale is a unique five-note scale that blends the brightness of a major sound with the dark, exotic tension of a flattened second degree. On Guitar, its notes are C, E, F, Gb, Bb. It provides a sophisticated, Spanish color that is useful in both classical and fusion music. Commonly used in Classical, Fusion, Flamenco. Notable players include Chick Corea, Al Di Meola. Use over Maj7, bII chords in Neapolitan contexts. Adds classical Spanish color to fusion and world music.
Notes: C, E, F, Gb, Bb
Intervals: 1P, 3M, 4P, 5d, 7m
Degrees: 1 2 3 4 b5
Formula: 4-H-H-4-W
Number of notes: 5
Tuning: Double Drop D (D-A-D-G-B-D)
About Double Drop D Tuning
Double Drop D tuning (D-A-D-G-B-D) lowers both the 6th and 1st strings from E to D, creating a symmetrical frame of D notes around the standard middle four strings. This gives a distinctly resonant, jangly character that has been beloved in folk-rock and acoustic music since the late 1960s.
Neil Young used Double Drop D extensively — 'Cinnamon Girl' features its distinctive droning riff, and 'The Needle and the Damage Done' showcases its intimate fingerpicking potential. Jimmy Page used it on Led Zeppelin's 'Going to California'. Fleetwood Mac's 'The Chain' also employs this tuning. Because only two strings change (both by just one whole step), Double Drop D is one of the easiest alternate tunings to learn — most standard chord shapes on the inner four strings remain unchanged.
Notable artists: Neil Young, Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Fleetwood Mac, Crosby Stills Nash & Young
Best for: Folk-rock songwriting, D-centric acoustic arrangements, droning fingerpicking patterns, and any song that benefits from rich D-string resonance on both outer strings
Musical Character
Blends major brightness with the dark tension of a b2 — a sophisticated five-note capsule of the Neapolitan system.
Explore This Scale in Other Tunings
- C Neapolitan Major Pentatonic in Standard Tuning
- C Neapolitan Major Pentatonic in Drop D
- C Neapolitan Major Pentatonic in DADGAD
- C Neapolitan Major Pentatonic in Open G
- C Neapolitan Major Pentatonic in Baritone (B Standard)
- C Neapolitan Major Pentatonic in 7-string
- C Neapolitan Major Pentatonic in 8-string
- C Neapolitan Major Pentatonic in Drop C
- C Neapolitan Major Pentatonic in Drop B
- C Neapolitan Major Pentatonic in Open D
- C Neapolitan Major Pentatonic in Half Step Down
- C Neapolitan Major Pentatonic in Open E
- C Neapolitan Major Pentatonic in Open A
- C Neapolitan Major Pentatonic in Open C