Compare with
C mixolydian
C major with one note lowered: B♭. Seven notes: C D E F G A B♭. The same notes as F major, centred on C.
- Parent key
- F major Same notes
- Colour note
- B♭ The flat 7th
- Repeating chords
- C – B♭ I – ♭VII
Across one chord in different positions. Down one place, every chord of the mode. | ||||
| IVampCC · E · G | ||||
| iiDmD · F · A | ||||
| iii°E°E · G · B♭ | ||||
| IVFF · A · C | ||||
| vGmG · B♭ · D | ||||
| viAmA · C · E | ||||
| ♭VIIVampB♭B♭ · D · F |
Light up
What makes it mixolydian
Major, with the 7th lowered
One note separates C mixolydian from C major: B becomes B♭. Over the same root, that turns C – B° into C – B♭.
C major
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- A
- B
C mixolydian
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- A
- B♭
Hear the difference
One chord that says mixolydian
C7 holds B♭, the colour note. Play it to hear those notes together.
The brightness ladder
Seven modes on C
From brightest to darkest, each row lowers one note of the row above. Mixolydian is row 3 of seven.
↑ Brighter
- C lydianCDEF♯GAB♯4
- C ionian (major)CDEFGAB—
- C mixolydianCDEFGAB♭♭7
- C dorianCDE♭FGAB♭♭3 ♭7
- C aeolian (natural minor)CDE♭FGA♭B♭♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- C phrygianCD♭E♭FGA♭B♭♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- C locrianCD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Darker ↓
Jam along
Three drills over the vamp
Play over the repeating C – B♭ chords with a metronome. The neck highlights the notes to aim for, with B♭ ringed.
- The vamp, with a clickC – B♭, two bars each, in frets 2–6. Strum on the beat.80 bpmLevel 1
- Scale over the vampUp the scale and back down, one note a beat, while C – B♭ sounds. Stay in frets 2–6.80 bpmLevel 1
- Land on the colour noteOver B♭, aim for B♭. It is the note that makes it mixolydian.80 bpmLevel 2