Mixolydian Mode
Major with a ♭7 — dominant chords, blues-rock, and jam-band vamps.
2 fretboard positions in standard tuning, low string on the left. Every dot is a note of the scale and the number inside it is the scale degree, so you can see the shape and the theory at once.
root notescale notenumbers inside the dots are scale degrees
Box 1
Open position
When to use it: It lands in open position for this key, so the open strings carry the low notes — easy to play, but the one shape you cannot slide to another key. Root on the 6th string. Learn this one first — matching the root to a fret is all it takes to move the shape to any key.
Box 2
Frets 7–10
When to use it: Root on the 5th string. Use it when the tonic is easier to find on the A string, or when you want the scale to sit higher.
7 notes, built off E with the formula 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · ♭7. Mixolydian is the scale that matches a dominant 7th chord note-for-note, which makes it the default choice over any V7. It sounds major without ever fully settling.
Stack every other note of the scale and you get its seven diatonic chords. These are the chords that sound at home over this scale — a progression made only of these will never leave the key.
| Degree | Chord | Notes | Seventh | Function |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | E | E G♯ B | E7 | tonic — everything resolves here |
| ii | F♯m | F♯ A C♯ | F♯m7 | supertonic — pre-dominant — the usual step toward the dominant |
| iii° | G♯dim | G♯ B D | G♯m7♭5 | mediant — unstable |
| IV | A | A C♯ E | Amaj7 | subdominant — the lift away from home |
| v | Bm | B D F♯ | Bm7 | dominant — a softer, modal pull home |
| vi | C♯m | C♯ E G♯ | C♯m7 | submediant — a soft landing away from the tonic |
| VII | D | D F♯ A | Dmaj7 | subtonic — a whole step below home, no pull |
Scales are not islands. Same notes, different home note gives you the relative scale; same home note, different notes gives you the parallel.
Matching key
Key of E MajorThe key page has the full diatonic table, the common progressions, and every chord in the key with diagrams.
The other modes of these notes
The E Mixolydian mode has 7 notes: E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D. The interval formula is 1–2–3–4–5–6–♭7, counted up from E.
The E Mixolydian mode builds seven diatonic chords: I E, ii F#m, iii° G#dim, IV A, v Bm, vi C#m, VII D.
Start with Position 1 (6th-string root) in open position. It lands in open position for this key, so the open strings carry the low notes — easy to play, but the one shape you cannot slide to another key. Root on the 6th string. Learn this one first — matching the root to a fret is all it takes to move the shape to any key.
The patterns above get your fingers moving. These explain what the notes are actually doing, so you can use the scale instead of just running it.
8 min read
Modes Explained — Ionian Through LocrianWhich parent scale this mode rotates out of, and where its flavour comes from.
5 min read
Major and Minor Scales — Built from Intervals, Felt in SongsModes are re-centred majors and minors. Get the two originals straight first.
6 min read
Key Signatures: Read Any Key in Two SecondsA mode borrows its signature. This is how to work out which one.