Scales › Mixolydian

Mixolydian scale

natural dominant

7 notes

RC 9D 3E 11F 5G 13A b7Bb

guide tones (3rd & 7th — the heart of the sound) avoid (strong clash)

C · D · E · F · G · A · Bb

Play in the key of

Mixolydian on the guitar: the fretboard diagram

Here is the Mixolydian scale laid out across the whole neck, from fret 0 to fret 15. The guide tones (3rd and 7th) are highlighted — they're what makes the scale's color sing. Use the key selector above to shift the shape along the neck and find the positions in your key.

E 3 11 5 13 b7 R 9 3 11 5 B R 9 3 11 5 13 b7 R 9 G 5 13 b7 R 9 3 11 5 13 b7 D 9 3 11 5 13 b7 R 9 3 11 A 13 b7 R 9 3 11 5 13 b7 R E 3 11 5 13 b7 R 9 3 11 5 0123456789101112131415

What color?

The basic dominant: major third and b7 that call for resolution, the rest diatonic. The sound and color of blues and rock once its eleventh (avoid note) is sidestepped; the starting point before any alteration.

Origin & history

A medieval church mode: a major scale with a minor seventh, hence the color of a dominant that does not resolve. A pillar of blues-rock, funk, and Celtic music.

Listen

"Norwegian Wood" — The Beatles
"Sweet Home Alabama" — Lynyrd Skynyrd

Which chords to play it on?

The jazz consensus (Aebersold) recommends it on:

dominant seventh chord

Sibling modes

The Mixolydian scale is one of the modes of the major scale : it shares exactly the same notes as the modes below, but built on a different degree of the parent scale (major (Ionian)).

major (Ionian) reference major color Dorian bright minor, major thirteenth Phrygian dark minor, Spanish b9 Lydian ♯11 brilliance Aeolian (natural minor) melancholic natural minor Locrian unstable half-diminished

Try it in a real chart

Paste a chord chart into the tool: Pentania tells you, chord by chord, when this scale fits — and what other colors are open to you. Open the tool →