The Mixolydian scale is a major scale with a flat 7th. It keeps the bright major 3rd but swaps the leading tone for a bluesy b7, so it sounds major, relaxed and a little rough: the sound of dominant 7 chords, classic rock riffs, country and jam bands.
Formula
Reference key: G Mixolydian, the key the diagrams below use.
| Degree | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | b7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | G | A | B | C | D | E | F |
Intervals: W W H W W H W.
G Mixolydian uses the same notes as C major. It's the fifth mode of the major scale: start C major on G and make G home.
Sound and character
The major 3rd (B) says "happy"; the b7 (F) says "don't get too comfortable". There's no F# pulling up to G, so the scale never sounds finished the way a major scale does. That open, unresolved quality is why it fits riffs and vamps that sit on one chord for a long time.
Where it's used
Rock, blues-rock, country, funk, Celtic and jam-band music. It's the scale for dominant chords: 7, 9, 11 and 13 (G7, G9, G13), and for plain major chords in rock when the band plays the bVII. Its key chords: G or G7 (I), F (bVII), C (IV), Dm (v) and Am (ii). The I-bVII move, G to F, is the Mixolydian signature.
How to move it
The root is the amber dot in each position. Slide the whole pattern until the amber dots land on the new root. Move everything up 2 frets for A Mixolydian, or up 5 frets for C Mixolydian (root at the 8th fret of the low E).
The Modes chapter plays G Mixolydian in open position; this chapter covers the whole neck. Mixolydian is the major scale with a b7, or major pentatonic plus the 4 and the b7.
In exercise 2, listen to the G-F pair on beat 3: the mode in two notes.