A♭ Mixolydian mode on guitar
The A♭ Mixolydian mode has seven notes: A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F and G♭ (1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7). A major scale with a flat 7th: the sound of rock, blues-rock and country over a dominant 7 chord. It fits riffs built on I, ♭VII and IV, like A, G and D.
| Note | A♭ | B♭ | C | D♭ | E♭ | F | G♭ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interval | 1 (root) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ♭7 |
| Step to the next | whole | whole | half | whole | whole | half | whole |
5 positions to learn it in
On guitar a seven-note scale is learnt in five shapes, each built round one of the open chord shapes C, A, G, E and D. Together they cover the neck. Press Play to hear each one, up and back down.
Chords that go with the A♭ Mixolydian mode
The chords on each note of the scale that use only its notes. Play over any of them and every note fits; A♭ (A♭) is where it sounds at home.
| On the | Chord | Seventh chord |
|---|---|---|
| root (A♭) | A♭home | A♭7home |
| 2 (B♭) | B♭mrestless | B♭m7restless |
| 3 (C) | Cdimthe edge | Cm7♭5the edge |
| 4 (D♭) | D♭the door | D♭maj7the door |
| 5 (E♭) | E♭msoft fall | E♭m7soft fall |
| 6 (F) | Fmthe shadow | Fm7the shadow |
| ♭7 (G♭) | G♭heroic | G♭maj7heroic |
Scales with the same notes
It has the same notes as the D♭ major scale, started from its fifth note, A♭.
Questions
What notes are in the A♭ Mixolydian mode?
A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F and G♭. Its intervals from the root are 1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7, and the steps between its notes are W W H W W H W (W a whole step, H a half step).
What chords go with the A♭ Mixolydian mode?
The chords made only of its notes: A♭, B♭m, Cdim, D♭, E♭m, Fm and G♭, and as seventh chords A♭7, B♭m7, Cm7♭5, D♭maj7, E♭m7, Fm7 and G♭maj7. A♭ is home: A♭ is the chord it sounds most settled over.
The Mixolydian mode in every key
Other scales in A♭
A♭ majorG♯ minorG♯ minor pentatonicA♭ major pentatonicG♯ bluesG♯ DorianA♭ LydianG♯ PhrygianG♯ harmonic minorG♯ melodic minorA♭ Phrygian dominant
Practise it on a sheet of your own in the practice sheet maker, with a metronome and a drone. Every scale: guitar scales. This scale on bass, ukulele, mandolin and banjo.