B♭ mixolydian scale on 7-string guitar

B♭ · C · D · E♭ · F · G · A♭

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 24 · Modes.

The notes

  1. B♭1
  2. C2
  3. D3
  4. E♭4
  5. F5
  6. G6
  7. A♭♭7

The B♭ mixolydian scale is B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭.

You may also see it called 1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7.

On the staff

B♭CDE♭FGA♭B♭

On a treble staff, the B♭ mixolydian scale is written B♭ C D E♭ F G A♭.

This is one octave of the B♭ mixolydian scale, written on the treble clef. Guitar and bass music is written an octave higher than it sounds, and the small 8 under the clef is the sign for that.

Why the B♭ mixolydian scale has these flats

  1. B♭1
  2. T
  3. C2
  4. T
  5. D3
  6. S
  7. E♭4
  8. T
  9. F5
  10. T
  11. G6
  12. S
  13. A♭♭7
  14. T
  15. B♭8

A scale is a pattern of steps, and this one is T T S T T S T: a tone, a tone, a semitone, and so on. S stands for a semitone, the distance of one fret or one key. T stands for a tone, which is two semitones. The pattern is what gives B♭ mixolydian its sound, and it stays the same whichever note you start on.

The second rule is that a seven-note scale uses each letter name once, from A to G, so its seven notes take seven different letters. That is why B♭ mixolydian is spelled the way it is, rather than with whichever accidental looks tidier.

Together, the two rules leave no room for choice. If you walk the pattern up from B♭, two letters cannot keep up:

  • E♭ — the fourth. The pattern needs a semitone from D, but D to E is only a tone, so E has to fall to E♭.
  • A♭ — the flat seventh. The pattern needs a semitone from G, but G to A is only a tone, so A has to fall to A♭.

None of those accidentals was a choice. Once you pick the note to start on, the pattern decides the rest, and a key signature is a record of the result.

The B♭ mixolydian scale is written with B♭, E♭ and A♭. B♭ has its accidental because that is the key, and the other notes need theirs because the T T S T T S T pattern of steps cannot be spelled from B♭ with plain letters.

The pattern of steps is the part of a scale that never changes. The letter names take sharps or flats to fit that pattern, and a key signature is a record of those sharps or flats.

On the piano

2C3DE5F6GAB2C3DE5F6GAB2C3DE5F6GAB2C3DE5F6GAB2C3DE5F6GAB2CC♯4E♭F♯♭7A♭1B♭C♯4E♭F♯♭7A♭1B♭C♯4E♭F♯♭7A♭1B♭C♯4E♭F♯♭7A♭1B♭C♯4E♭F♯♭7A♭1B♭C1C2C3C4C5C6

The keyboard shows the same seven notes as a shape you can see. The coloured keys are the B♭ mixolydian scale, and you can click any key to hear it.

B♭ mixolydian scale on the whole neck

BEADGBE123456789101112131415C2D3E♭4F5G6A♭♭7B♭1C2D3F5G6A♭♭7B♭1C2D3E♭4F5G6B♭1C2D3E♭4F5G6A♭♭7B♭1C2D3E♭4F5G6A♭♭7B♭1C2D3E♭4F5G6A♭♭7B♭1C2D3E♭4F5G6A♭♭7B♭1C2D3E♭4F5G6A♭♭7B♭1C2D3F5G6A♭♭7B♭1C2D3E♭4F5G6

100 notes of the B♭ mixolydian scale are marked across seven strings.

This is every place the notes of the B♭ mixolydian scale fall on the 7-string guitar, with each note's name and its scale degree. The roots are marked so you can find your bearings.

Position by position

Position 1 — starts on the 2
BEADGBE12345623456♭7123456♭71223456♭7
Position 2 — starts on the 3
BEADGBE3456783456♭7123456♭71233456♭71
Position 3 — starts on the 4
BEADGBE456789456♭7123456♭71234456♭712
Position 4 — starts on the 5
BEADGBE6789101156♭7123456♭71234556♭7123
Position 5 — starts on the 6
BEADGBE89101112136♭7123456♭71234566♭71234
Position 6 — starts on the ♭7
BEADGBE91011121314♭7123456♭7123456♭7♭712345
Position 7 — starts on the 1
BEADGBE111213141516123456♭7123456♭71123456

The B♭ mixolydian scale has seven playable positions, at frets 1–5, 3–7, 4–8, 6–10, 8–12, 9–13 and 11–15.

Each shape starts on a different degree of the scale and fits inside five frets, so your hand can play all of it without moving.

One climb up the neck

BEADGBE1112131415161718192021222324123456♭7123456♭7123456♭71TAB11131516131516181517182017182022192022242123

The climb runs from fret 11 to fret 24 and plays 22 notes.

This is one path from the lowest root to the top of the neck, and it plays each note once, never on two strings. It takes a different number of notes on different strings. The widest stretch on any one string is five frets.