F Mixolydian
The F Mixolydian mode — F G A Bb C D Eb — shown across the guitar neck.
Tap any note on the neck.
Swipe the neck sideways to see the higher frets.
F Mixolydian is the major scale with one note changed — the b7, Eb. 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 F Mixolydian?
F Mixolydian is the seven notes F G A Bb C D Eb — the notes of Bb major started from its 5th degree, F. Same seven notes as the parent, but with F as home, so the intervals and the sound are different.
F Mixolydian vs F 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 Eb in Mixolydian, where F major has 7, E.
Play F major and F Mixolydian back to back over a F chord and listen for Eb — that is the note to lean on.
Chords in F Mixolydian
Stack the mode in thirds and each degree becomes a chord. The home chord is F; the rest are the chords of Bb major, since the notes are the same — what changes is which one the music rests on. Vamp between F and Eb and the mode is unmistakable.
F Mixolydian on the guitar neck
Because F Mixolydian is Bb major from its 5th note, its natural fingering is position 5 of the seven three-notes-per-string shapes of Bb major — the shape whose lowest note is F. Learn that shape with F as home — start and end on it, over a drone on F or the vamp above — and you have the mode under your fingers. Play the same shape with Bb as home and you hear Bb major instead. The other six positions are the fingerings for the other six modes of the same key.
How to practice F Mixolydian on guitar
- Loop position 5 of Bb major at 60 BPM, starting and ending on F so your ear hears F as home rather than Bb.
- Hold a F chord (or record one) and play the shape over it. Land on Eb 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 F Mixolydian from its own root: the orange dots are on F and the degrees count from it. The notes are its parent key's, Bb major; to hear Mixolydian, start and end on F.
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