Scales
C Mixolydian Scale
C · D · E · F · G · A · Bb
The fifth mode — major with a flattened seventh, and the scale that fits a dominant chord.
C Mixolydian Scale
C · D · E · F · G · A · Bb
Fingering on the piano
| Hand | Fingering | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 | C · D · E · F · G · A · Bb · C | |
| Left hand | 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 | C · D · E · F · G · A · Bb · C |
One octave ascending; 1 is the thumb. A standard fingering, not the only one.
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Scale degrees
C Mixolydian is made of the notes C · D · E · F · G · A · Bb. Each is a degree counted from the tonic, and the gaps between them are the step pattern W W H W W H W.
Read on: scale degrees · building any scale · the seven modes
Modes
A mode is the same set of notes started from another degree. Each card is one rotation of C Mixolydian: choose it to re-order the degrees from its tonic and hear it, or open its own page. The seven modes of the major scale are the ones most players learn first.
Chords in this key
Stacking thirds on each degree of C Mixolydian gives the chords of the key; the roman numeral names the degree each is built on.
Related scales
The scales C Mixolydian shares its notes with: the one it is a rotation of, the relative and parallel keys, the scales inside it and the ones that contain it.
F MajorF · G · A · Bb · C · D · E
Parent scale: the major scale this is a rotation of
Scales inside it
C Major PentatonicC · D · E · G · A
Every note of this scale is in C Mixolydian.
C Mixolydian PentatonicC · E · F · G · Bb
Every note of this scale is in C Mixolydian.
C RitusenC · D · F · G · A
Every note of this scale is in C Mixolydian.
C EgyptianC · D · F · G · Bb
Every note of this scale is in C Mixolydian.
C PiongioC · D · F · G · A · Bb
Every note of this scale is in C Mixolydian.
Scales that contain it
C BebopC · D · E · F · G · A · Bb · B
Contains every note of C Mixolydian.
C Bebop MinorC · D · Eb · E · F · G · A · Bb
Contains every note of C Mixolydian.
C Composite BluesC · D · Eb · E · F · Gb · G · A · Bb
Contains every note of C Mixolydian.
C ChromaticC · Db · D · Eb · E · F · Gb · G · Ab · A · Bb · B
Contains every note of C Mixolydian.
Understanding C Mixolydian
Names and spellings
A mode is named by the note it starts on, not by the major scale it comes from: D Dorian uses the notes of C major, but its tonic is D and its chords are built from D. The same mode name on another tonic is a different scale with the same pattern.
How it is built
On C the mode is C · D · E · F · G · A · Bb, following the step pattern W W H W W H W. Against the major scale on the same tonic, only the seventh degree differs: mixolydian flattens it.
Flattening the seventh removes the leading tone, so the scale loses its pull toward the tonic and gains a dominant-seventh chord on the first degree instead.
How it is used
It is the sound of blues-rock, of Celtic and folk melody, and of any riff built on a dominant seventh that never resolves. It is also the default scale over a V7 chord in a functional progression.
The ♭VII chord it produces — a major triad a whole step below the tonic — is the other giveaway, and it is everywhere in rock.
Learn this properly
Chapter 9: ModesCommon questions
- What notes are in C Mixolydian?
- C Mixolydian contains C · D · E · F · G · A · Bb. Find every scale that contains these notes with the scale finder.
- What is the difference between mixolydian and major?
- One note: mixolydian flattens the seventh degree.
- What chord does mixolydian fit over?
- The dominant seventh. It is the mode that spells that chord out exactly.
- How do I play C Mixolydian?
- On guitar start with the 1st position, played from the lowest string upward; the instrument panel on this page shows its frets and the positions further up the neck. On the piano the right hand ascends 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5, with 1 as the thumb. Every position plays when you press it.
- What chords are in the key of C Mixolydian?
- Stacking thirds on each degree of C Mixolydian gives C (I), Dm (ii), Edim (iii°), F (IV), Gm (v), Am (vi), Bb (VII). These are the diatonic chords of the key, the ones a song in this key uses most; the harmony band on this page lists them with the seventh chords built the same way.