B Mixolydian
The B Mixolydian mode — B C# D# E F# G# A — shown across the guitar neck.
Tap any note on the neck.
Swipe the neck sideways to see the higher frets.
B Mixolydian is the major scale with one note changed — the b7, A. That single note is what gives the mode its sound: lean on it and the colour is obvious. Leave it out and the melody alone could pass for plain major — then it is the chords underneath that keep the mode.
What is B Mixolydian?
B Mixolydian is the seven notes B C# D# E F# G# A — the notes of E major started from its 5th degree, B. Same seven notes as the parent, but with B as home, so the intervals and the sound are different.
B Mixolydian vs B major
6 of the seven notes are the same. The difference is one note, and that is the whole character of the mode:
- b7 is A in Mixolydian, where B major has 7, A#.
Play B major and B Mixolydian back to back over a B chord and listen for A — that is the note to lean on.
Chords in B Mixolydian
Stack the mode in thirds and each degree becomes a chord. The home chord is B; the rest are the chords of E major, since the notes are the same — what changes is which one the music rests on. Vamp between B and A and the mode is unmistakable.
B Mixolydian on the guitar neck
Because B Mixolydian is E major from its 5th note, its natural fingering is position 5 of the seven three-notes-per-string shapes of E major — the shape whose lowest note is B. Learn that shape with B as home — start and end on it, over a drone on B or the vamp above — and you have the mode under your fingers. Play the same shape with E as home and you hear E major instead. The other six positions are the fingerings for the other six modes of the same key.
How to practice B Mixolydian on guitar
- Loop position 5 of E major at 60 BPM, starting and ending on B so your ear hears B as home rather than E.
- Hold a B chord (or record one) and play the shape over it. Land on A on the strong beats — that is the sound of Mixolydian.
- Hear it harmonized in 3rds on the Fretboard: press Play and every note sounds with its partner while the neck lights up.
The tool draws B Mixolydian from its own root: the orange dots are on B and the degrees count from it. The notes are its parent key's, E major; to hear Mixolydian, start and end on B.
Find out what you should learn next. Five questions and Guitar Theory Studio builds you a four-week plan through the fretboard, chords, scales, arpeggios and ear training — week one free.
Build my free plan →