D mixolydian scale on bass

D · E · F♯ · G · A · B · C

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

The notes

  1. D1
  2. E2
  3. F♯3
  4. G4
  5. A5
  6. B6
  7. C♭7

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

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

On the staff

DEF♯GABCD

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

This is one octave of the D mixolydian scale, written on the bass 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 D mixolydian scale has this sharp

  1. D1
  2. T
  3. E2
  4. T
  5. F♯3
  6. S
  7. G4
  8. T
  9. A5
  10. T
  11. B6
  12. S
  13. C♭7
  14. T
  15. D8

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 D 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 D 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 D, one letter cannot keep up:

  • F♯ — the third. The pattern needs a tone from E, but E to F is only a semitone, so F has to rise to F♯.

That accidental was not 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 D mixolydian scale is written with F♯, because the T T S T T S T pattern of steps cannot be spelled with plain letters from D.

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

♭7C1D2EF4G5A6B♭7C1D2EF4G5A6B♭7C1D2EF4G5A6B♭7CC♯D♯3F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯3F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯3F♯G♯A♯C1C2C3C4

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

D mixolydian scale on the whole neck

EADG123456789101112131415E2F♯3G4A5B6C♭7D1E2F♯3G4A5B6C♭7D1E2F♯3G4A5B6C♭7D1E2F♯3G4A5B6C♭7D1E2G4A5B6C♭7D1E2F♯3G4A5

49 notes of the D mixolydian scale are marked across four strings.

This is every place the notes of the D mixolydian scale fall on the bass, 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 3
EADG2345673456♭7123456♭7
Position 2 — starts on the 4
EADG345678456♭7123456♭71
Position 3 — starts on the 5
EADG567891056♭7123456♭712
Position 4 — starts on the 6
EADG7891011126♭7123456♭7123
Position 5 — starts on the ♭7
EADG8910111213♭7123456♭71234
Position 6 — starts on the 1
EADG101112131415123456♭712345
Position 7 — starts on the 2
EADG12131415161723456♭7123456

The D mixolydian scale has seven playable positions, at frets 2–6, 3–7, 5–9, 7–11, 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

EADG1011121314151617181920123456♭7123456♭71TAB101214151214151714161719161719

The climb runs from fret 10 to fret 19 and plays fifteen 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.