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The Mixolydian Mode

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In this course takes an in-depth look at the fifth mode of the major scale, the Mixolydian mode. This is one of the most useful modes to know and it's frequently used in all styles music, making it an important mode to get under your belt.

The course initially focuses on learning the G Mixolydian mode, which belongs to the home key of C major. You’ll first learn to play it all over the fingerboard using the 'content over patterns' system, after which there are a series of bass grooves to study that put the mode to use. Some of the later exercises will utilise the Mixolydian mode from other keys. By the end of this course you will be very well-acquainted with the Mixolydian mode.

As you work through this material, you might find the following courses useful (all included in the monthly subscription cost):

Don’t forget to hit the Download Resources button above to get the PDF worksheet and audio files for this piece (available to subscribers only).

This course is 53 MINUTES long and contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. Introduction to the Mixolydian Mode

This video covers the basic theory behind the Mixolydian mode. It also discusses the unique sound of the mode and the ways in which it is commonly used.

2. Playing the Mixolydian Mode

This lesson will get you playing the G Mixolydian mode all over the fingerboard. Here, the focus will be on the notes themselves, not on any restrictive fretboard patterns.

3. Exercise #1

This is a funk groove that outlines the G7 chord clearly. In the first bar the upper register tritone is preceded by two open strings, which are the fifth and root of the chord.

4. Exercise #2

This is a rock groove that was recorded with a plectrum. The details are crucial to getting this line to sound right: ghost notes, pull-offs and slides are all important elements.

5. Exercise #3

This is a busy line played at a slow tempo. The turnaround in the fourth bar drops to the third of the chord and ascends to the fifth – always effective over a dominant chord.

6. Exercise #4

This line features descending chord tone phrases in the upper register in bars 1 and 3. The open G-string is used between them to facilitate position shifts.

7. Exercise #5

This is a slow-tempo line that uses a descending four-note figure built from the chord tones of the G7 chord. This line was recorded with an envelope filter and a fuzz pedal.

8. Exercise #6

This line uses the F Mixolydian mode (F-G-A-Bb-C-D-Eb-F). This line strongly features the most colourful notes in the mode: the major third and the seventh.

9. Exercise #7

This is a slap groove that uses the D Mixolydian mode (D-E-F#-G-A-B-C-D), from the home key of G. The Mixolydian mode is a popular choice for slap grooves.

10. Exercise #8

This is another funk groove, this time using the E Mixolydian mode (E-F#-G#-A-B-C#-D-E), from the home key of A major. Watch out for the tricky fill in the fourth bar.

11. Exercise #9

This line is a challenging Jaco Pastorius-influenced fingerstyle groove that uses the F Mixolydian mode (F-G-A-Bb-C-D-Eb-F), from the home key of Bb major.

12. Exercise #10

This quick-paced groove again uses the G Mixolydian mode, from the home key of C major. This is a busy line that also features several accidentals.