6 String Freedom

Part 11: Modes with an audible reason · Lesson 101 / 117

Mixolydian lowers the major seventh

Today’s one thing

Keep G as home and compare F# with F.

G Mixolydian is G–A–B–C–D–E–F. Compared with G major, its seventh changes from F# to F. Its formula is 1–2–3–4–5–6–b7.

The major third B remains, so the tonic triad is G major. The lowered seventh gives a different colour around that same tonic. This is not the same change as Dorian's raised sixth relative to natural minor.

Compare G–F#–G with G–F–G over a G-centred reference. Keep the rhythm fixed and listen to the final approach into G. One version rises by a semitone; the other by a whole tone.

The notes of G Mixolydian match C major, but the intended home here is G. We use the parallel comparison first so the changed interval is audible instead of hidden behind a parent-scale name.

Hear it

G Mixolydian

Audio file

Four-beat count-in · 60 BPM · Warm sampled electric guitar. Listen once before playing along.

A concrete example

G major: G A B C D E F#. G Mixolydian: G A B C D E F. Changed degree: 7→b7.

Fretboard view

Tap a labelled note to hear it. High E/string 1 is at the top, matching tablature.

Root / tonicChord toneTarget noteOther scale note
G Mixolydian
G major with F natural instead of F#.
Guitar fretboard from open strings to fret 4; G Mixolydian. Notes and highlighted targets labeled.
The lowered seventh is the note to hear and to target deliberately.

Use this as a note map, not a speed test. Once the relationships make sense, play them without looking.

Try it, slowly

  1. Play the two seventh-to-tonic approaches.
  2. Keep B in the phrase to retain a major third above G.
  3. Explain the altered seventh without saying the key is automatically C.

Check one idea

What changes when G major becomes G Mixolydian?

Show the explanation

F# lowers to F. B remains the major third; the tonic remains G in the intended context.

A good place to stop

You can hear and explain the changed seventh around a fixed G tonic.

Return to the example after a short break. A clear explanation matters more than speed.