STRINGSCALES

A♭ mixolydian Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb at frets 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11

A string: Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab at frets 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11

D string: Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, Db at frets 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11

G string: Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, Gb at frets 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11

B string: C, Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb at frets 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11

High E string: F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb at frets 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11

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Ab mixolydian

The mixolydian mode is a major scale with a flat 7th, the mode of the fifth degree. It is the sound of the dominant 7th chord stretched into a scale, which makes it the working scale of blues rock, country twang and jam band vamps. Anywhere a song sits on a 7th chord without resolving, mixolydian is home base.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

A♭

I

A♭maj
B♭

ii

B♭m
C

iii°

Cdim
D♭

IV

D♭maj
E♭

v

E♭m
F

vi

Fm
G♭

bVII

G♭maj

Characteristic note: Gb (b7), the flat seventh that makes mixolydian the go-to scale over dominant chords.

Same notes, different mode

Ab mixolydian uses the same notes as the scales below. Start from a different note and you get a new mode built on the very same note set.

Bb minor · relative minorC locrianDb major · relative majorEb dorianF phrygianGb lydian

mixolydian in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Aim at the flat 7th (Gb) over a dominant chord: it is the note that makes Ab7 sound at rest instead of leading anywhere.
  • Bluesify it: bend the 3rd (C), add the flat 3rd as a passing note, and Ab mixolydian becomes roots rock vocabulary immediately.
  • Vamp I to bVII (Gb) major chords (both in the scale) for the classic rock and jam-band mixolydian groove in Ab.
  • Over a static 7th chord, alternate mixolydian runs with the Ab major pentatonic to lighten the dominant color.

How to play A♭ mixolydian on guitar

No open string falls inside this scale, so everything here is fretted and every shape is movable. Root nearest the nut is on the G string, fret 1, and the lowest-pitched one is fret 4 on the low E. Box one from fret 4 ends at fret 8, which means the next shape carries anything higher. Capo at fret 1 turns this into G fingering, letting five flats disappear from the reading. Chord ii is Bbm.

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