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D mixolydian pentatonic Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F#, G, A, C, D at frets 2, 3, 5, 8, 10

A string: A, C, D, F#, G, A at frets 0, 3, 5, 9, 10, 12

D string: D, F#, G, A, C, D at frets 0, 4, 5, 7, 10, 12

G string: G, A, C, D, F#, G at frets 0, 2, 5, 7, 11, 12

B string: C, D, F#, G, A at frets 1, 3, 7, 8, 10

High E string: F#, G, A, C, D at frets 2, 3, 5, 8, 10

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D mixolydian pentatonic

The mixolydian pentatonic, also catalogued as the Indian pentatonic, is root, major 3rd, 4th, 5th and flat 7th: a dominant 7th chord plus the 4th. It gives you the mixolydian sound in five notes, ideal over a static 7th chord vamp when the full mode feels busy. The 4th resolving down to the 3rd is its built-in melodic hook.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

D

I

F♯

III

G

IV

A

V

C

bVII

mixolydian pentatonic in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • A dominant 7th chord plus the 4th: root, III, IV, V, bVII (C); over a D7 vamp, it is all signal and no filler.
  • Resolve the 4th (G) down to the 3rd (F#) as the built-in melodic move.
  • Where the major pentatonic avoids tension, this keeps the bVII (C): use it when the chord is a 7th, not a triad.
  • Its five notes also cover the sus-to-major resolution: hold IV against the chord, then land III.

How to play D mixolydian pentatonic on guitar

Open D is a root and the open A a fifth beneath it, so those two strings pedal without any left hand at all. Fret 3 sets the lowest fretted root on the B string, where fret 7 on the G matches it in pitch. Open G is the fourth of the key. Fret 10 on the low E and fret 5 on the A give the same pitch as that open D string, meaning one root note is reachable from three positions.

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