Lesson 64 · All 12 keys

Neapolitan (♭II) Chord Trainer

Learn how a Neapolitan (♭II) chord is built one semitone-count at a time — a plain major triad (Lesson 8), but rooted a minor 2nd (half step) above the tonic instead of on it — then put it to work with three MIDI exercises: playing all 12 Neapolitan chords around the circle of fourths, and 5 jazz plus 5 gospel chord progressions that show off its color, in every key.

How a Neapolitan (♭II) chord is built

A Neapolitan (♭II) chord — written ♭II (e.g. C♭II) — is a 3-note chord: a plain major triad (Lesson 8), but rooted a minor 2nd (half step) above the tonic instead of on it. Every ♭II chord — in any of the 12 keys — is built the exact same way, by counting semitones to the right from a root note:

  1. Start from the tonic you select — the Neapolitan chord is built relative to it, not on it.
  2. Count 1 semitone up from the tonic — the ♭2nd degree, which becomes the root of this chord (hence "♭II").
  3. Count 4 more semitones up from that root (5 semitones from the tonic) — the major 3rd of the ♭II chord.
  4. Count 3 more semitones up from the 3rd (8 semitones from the tonic) — the perfect 5th of the ♭II chord, completing a plain major triad (Lesson 8) built a half step above the tonic.
Example — C♭II: start on D♭, count 4 semitones right to reach F, count 3 semitones more to reach A♭. D♭‑F‑A♭ is the C♭II chord.
A Neapolitan chord borrows a major triad from a half step above the tonic — a surprising chromatic color in both classical and gospel harmony. It typically functions like a substitute subdominant, most often moving ♭II → V → I, exactly like the progressions in this lesson.

Try it: pick a root and build the chord step by step

Step 1 of 3
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Chord toneNoteSemitones from rootMIDI #

All 12 Neapolitan chords at a glance

ChordRootMajor 3rd of ♭IIPerfect 5th of ♭II

This MIDI exercise plays all 12 Neapolitan chords, one after another, moving around the circle of fourths — each chord's root sits a perfect 4th (5 semitones) above the last one: C → F → B♭ → E♭ → A♭ → D♭ → G♭/F♯ → B → E → A → D → G → back to C. Every chord is played as a full 3-note Neapolitan (♭II) chord (♭ii (chord root), major 3rd of ♭ii, perfect 5th of ♭ii together).

Chord 1 of 12
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The 12 chords, in circle-of-fourths order

#ChordRootMajor 3rd of ♭IIPerfect 5th of ♭II

Five jazz chord progressions built around the Neapolitan (♭II) chord. Pick a progression and play it in one key or cycle through all 12.

Key of C
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Progression in C

DegreeChordNotes

Five gospel chord progressions built around the Neapolitan (♭II) chord. Pick a progression and play it in one key or cycle through all 12.

Key of C
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Progression in C

DegreeChordNotes