E♭ Mixolydian mode on guitar
The E♭ Mixolydian mode has seven notes: E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C and D♭ (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 | E♭ | F | G | A♭ | B♭ | C | D♭ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 E♭ Mixolydian mode
The chords on each note of the scale that use only its notes. Play over any of them and every note fits; E♭ (E♭) is where it sounds at home.
| On the | Chord | Seventh chord |
|---|---|---|
| root (E♭) | E♭home | E♭7home |
| 2 (F) | Fmrestless | Fm7restless |
| 3 (G) | Gdimthe edge | Gm7♭5the edge |
| 4 (A♭) | A♭the door | A♭maj7the door |
| 5 (B♭) | B♭msoft fall | B♭m7soft fall |
| 6 (C) | Cmthe shadow | Cm7the shadow |
| ♭7 (D♭) | D♭heroic | D♭maj7heroic |
Scales with the same notes
It has the same notes as the A♭ major scale, started from its fifth note, E♭.
Questions
What notes are in the E♭ Mixolydian mode?
E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C and D♭. 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 E♭ Mixolydian mode?
The chords made only of its notes: E♭, Fm, Gdim, A♭, B♭m, Cm and D♭, and as seventh chords E♭7, Fm7, Gm7♭5, A♭maj7, B♭m7, Cm7 and D♭maj7. E♭ is home: E♭ is the chord it sounds most settled over.
The Mixolydian mode in every key
Other scales in E♭
E♭ majorE♭ minorE♭ minor pentatonicE♭ major pentatonicE♭ bluesE♭ DorianE♭ LydianE♭ PhrygianE♭ harmonic minorE♭ melodic minorE♭ 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.