B♭ mixolydian
B♭ major with one note lowered: A♭. Seven notes: B♭ C D E♭ F G A♭. The same notes as E♭ major, centred on B♭.
A♯ and B♭ are the same pitch. This scale is written as B♭ mixolydian because that spelling needs fewer accidentals than A♯ mixolydian.
- Parent key
- E♭ major Same notes
- Colour note
- A♭ The flat 7th
- Repeating chords
- B♭ – A♭ I – ♭VII
Across one chord in different positions. Down one place, every chord of the mode. | ||||
| IVampB♭B♭ · D · F | ||||
| iiCmC · E♭ · G | ||||
| iii°D°D · F · A♭ | ||||
| IVE♭E♭ · G · B♭ | ||||
| vFmF · A♭ · C | ||||
| viGmG · B♭ · D | ||||
| ♭VIIVampA♭A♭ · C · E♭ |
What makes it mixolydian
Major, with the 7th lowered
One note separates B♭ mixolydian from B♭ major: A becomes A♭. Over the same root, that turns B♭ – A° into B♭ – A♭.
- B♭
- C
- D
- E♭
- F
- G
- A
- B♭
- C
- D
- E♭
- F
- G
- A♭
Hear the difference
One chord that says mixolydian
B♭7 holds A♭, the colour note. Play it to hear those notes together.
The brightness ladder
Seven modes on B♭
From brightest to darkest, each row lowers one note of the row above. Mixolydian is row 3 of seven.
↑ Brighter
- B♭ lydianB♭CDEFGA♯4
- B♭ ionian (major)B♭CDE♭FGA—
- B♭ mixolydianB♭CDE♭FGA♭♭7
- B♭ dorianB♭CD♭E♭FGA♭♭3 ♭7
- B♭ aeolian (natural minor)B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- B♭ phrygianB♭C♭D♭E♭FG♭A♭♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- B♭ locrianB♭C♭D♭E♭F♭G♭A♭♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Darker ↓
Jam along
Three drills over the vamp
Play over the repeating B♭ – A♭ chords with a metronome. The neck highlights the notes to aim for, with A♭ ringed.
- The vamp, with a clickB♭ – A♭, two bars each, in frets 3–6. Strum on the beat.80 bpmLevel 1
- Scale over the vampUp the scale and back down, one note a beat, while B♭ – A♭ sounds. Stay in frets 3–6.80 bpmLevel 1
- Land on the colour noteOver A♭, aim for A♭. It is the note that makes it mixolydian.80 bpmLevel 2