Spicing up the Mixolydian scale.

Podcast #11 - Additional notes

Copyright Darren Dutson Bromley 2012

Spicing up the Mixolydian scale.

The Mixolydian scale can be thought of as a modified major scale, a major scale with a
flattened 7th which is altered to accommodate the flattened 7th found in a dominant 7th
chord.
Here is an example in A.
The A major scale contains the note G#.
If we were to play this scale over an A7 chord the G# would clash with the G natural found
in the chord, (A, C#, E and G). All the other notes fit fine.
By altering the G# in the scale to G to correspond with the offending chord tone we arrive
at a new scale, A Mixolydian.
A major
scale

A7 chord

A
Mixolydian
scale

C#

C#
B

C#

F#

E
D

G#

G
F#

This scale has been discussed in detail over the past couple of episodes so if you are
unsure of it and its construction then it would be wise to revisit them.
While this scale sounds good when played over a dominant 7th chord there is just
something lacking, a bluesy quality, in some respects the scale almost fits too well.
The blues scale is a scale which is generally learned quite early on and is a wonderful
scale to play with in a great many applications. It's notes correspond to the root, b3rd, 4th,
b5th, 5th and b7th notes of a major scale. It differs from the minor pentatonic as it includes
an extra note, the b5th although the two often seem to get lumped together. The blues
scale is a hexatonic scale meaning it contains six notes.
The A Blues Scale would contain the notes A C D Eb E and G.

This scale has a number of possible applications but as a blues scale it would usually be
played over a dominant 7th chord, or a series of dominant 7th chords. The Eb (b5th) is
often treated as a passing note moving between D and E or visa versa, although it is quite
possible to begin on Eb, again this often resolves chromatically. The C (b3rd) is the note
which gives the scale it's most bluesy qualities when played over a dominant chord.
It is quite possible to have the best of both worlds and combine the mixolydian and the
blues scales. Surprisingly there are quite a lot of similarities.
A Mixolydian contains the notes A, B, C#, D, E, F# and G.
A Blues contains the notes A, C, D, Eb, E and G.
The notes A, D, E and G are common to both scales.

A
Root

C#
C

2nd

3rd

Eb E

4th

5th

F#

6th

7th

In fact the only two notes which are different are C and Eb, the flattened 3rd and the
flattened 5th. These two notes can be added to the Mixolydian scale to add a bluesy
quality.
In the following diagram the notes from the blues scale (C and Eb) are coloured blue.

At first glance this scale looks quite overwhelming but by working on gaining facility with
the extra notes and getting familiar with its sounds it can transform the way you play
mixolydian scales and open up a world of possibilities.
Here is a lick which uses these notes. Try playing it in different keys and use the ideas
discussed to spice up other Mixolydian licks and solo ideas you may have.

Next week we'll look at using these extra notes in a solo.