Compare with
F mixolydian
F major with one note lowered: E♭. Seven notes: F G A B♭ C D E♭. The same notes as B♭ major, centred on F.
- Parent key
- B♭ major Same notes
- Colour note
- E♭ The flat 7th
- Repeating chords
- F – E♭ I – ♭VII
Across one chord in different positions. Down one place, every chord of the mode. | ||||
| IVampFF · A · C | ||||
| iiGmG · B♭ · D | ||||
| iii°A°A · C · E♭ | ||||
| IVB♭B♭ · D · F | ||||
| vCmC · E♭ · G | ||||
| viDmD · F · A | ||||
| ♭VIIVampE♭E♭ · G · B♭ |
Light up
What makes it mixolydian
Major, with the 7th lowered
One note separates F mixolydian from F major: E becomes E♭. Over the same root, that turns F – E° into F – E♭.
F major
- F
- G
- A
- B♭
- C
- D
- E
F mixolydian
- F
- G
- A
- B♭
- C
- D
- E♭
Hear the difference
One chord that says mixolydian
F7 holds E♭, the colour note. Play it to hear those notes together.
The brightness ladder
Seven modes on F
From brightest to darkest, each row lowers one note of the row above. Mixolydian is row 3 of seven.
↑ Brighter
- F lydianFGABCDE♯4
- F ionian (major)FGAB♭CDE—
- F mixolydianFGAB♭CDE♭♭7
- F dorianFGA♭B♭CDE♭♭3 ♭7
- F aeolian (natural minor)FGA♭B♭CD♭E♭♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- F phrygianFG♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- F locrianFG♭A♭B♭C♭D♭E♭♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Darker ↓
Jam along
Three drills over the vamp
Play over the repeating F – E♭ chords with a metronome. The neck highlights the notes to aim for, with E♭ ringed.
- The vamp, with a clickF – E♭, 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 F – E♭ sounds. Stay in frets 2–6.80 bpmLevel 1
- Land on the colour noteOver E♭, aim for E♭. It is the note that makes it mixolydian.80 bpmLevel 2