B♭ mixolydian scale on DADGAD 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

2C3DE5F6GAB2C3DE5F6GAB2C3DE5F6GAB2C3DE5F6GAB2CC♯4E♭F♯♭7A♭1B♭C♯4E♭F♯♭7A♭1B♭C♯4E♭F♯♭7A♭1B♭C♯4E♭F♯♭7A♭1B♭C2C3C4C5C6

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

DADGAD123456789101112131415D3E♭4F5G6A♭♭7B♭1C2D3E♭4F5B♭1C2D3E♭4F5G6A♭♭7B♭1C2D3E♭4F5G6A♭♭7B♭1C2D3E♭4F5G6A♭♭7B♭1C2D3E♭4F5G6A♭♭7B♭1B♭1C2D3E♭4F5G6A♭♭7B♭1C2D3E♭4F5G6A♭♭7B♭1C2D3E♭4F5

82 notes of the B♭ mixolydian scale are marked across six strings.

This is every place the notes of the B♭ mixolydian scale fall on the DADGAD 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 4
DADGAD123456456123456♭712123456
Position 2 — starts on the 5
DADGAD34567856♭723456♭712323456♭7
Position 3 — starts on the 6
DADGAD56789106♭713456♭712343456♭71
Position 4 — starts on the ♭7
DADGAD67891011♭712456♭712345456♭712
Position 5 — starts on the 1
DADGAD891011121312356♭712345656♭7123
Position 6 — starts on the 2
DADGAD1011121314152346♭7123456♭76♭71234
Position 7 — starts on the 3
DADGAD121314151617345123456♭7112345

The B♭ mixolydian scale has seven playable positions, at frets 1–5, 3–7, 5–9, 6–10, 8–12, 10–14 and 12–16.

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

DADGAD8910111213141516171819202122123456♭7123456♭7123456♭712TAB81012138101113101213151213151717182022182022

The climb runs from fret 8 to fret 22 and plays 23 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.