The Neapolitan chord · Modal interchange · Music theory
Another loan with a long history is the Neapolitan chord: a major triad on the lowered II, D♭ in C minor, normally with its third in the bass. It acts as a…
The Neapolitan chord
Another loan with a long history is the Neapolitan chord: a major triad on the lowered II, D♭ in C minor, normally with its third in the bass. It acts as a subdominant and is very expressive: D♭ falls to B, sometimes via C, across a diminished third.
It was used above all in late Baroque and Classical music, very often in minor-mode cadences. Its direct descendant is the ♭IIMaj⁷ of jazz.