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E mixolydian pentatonic Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, G#, A, B, D, E at frets 0, 4, 5, 7, 10, 12

A string: A, B, D, E, G#, A at frets 0, 2, 5, 7, 11, 12

D string: D, E, G#, A, B, D at frets 0, 2, 6, 7, 9, 12

G string: G#, A, B, D, E at frets 1, 2, 4, 7, 9

B string: B, D, E, G#, A, B at frets 0, 3, 5, 9, 10, 12

High E string: E, G#, A, B, D, E at frets 0, 4, 5, 7, 10, 12

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E 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:

E

I

G♯

III

A

IV

B

V

D

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 (D); over a E7 vamp, it is all signal and no filler.
  • Resolve the 4th (A) down to the 3rd (G#) as the built-in melodic move.
  • Where the major pentatonic avoids tension, this keeps the bVII (D): 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 E mixolydian pentatonic on guitar

Five of the six open strings are in the key, with both E strings as roots and the open B as the fifth, so the whole instrument rings behind a first-position line. Only the G string sits out. Box one starts at the nut, which lets you play the shape with open strings ringing under it, and the next box begins at fret 4. Fret 7 on the A and fret 2 on the D share one pitch, an octave above the open low E root, with fret 9 on the G above them.

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