Mixolydian · A♭ · Guitar
The A♭ Mixolydian scale is A♭ B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G♭ — formula 1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7, step pattern W–W–H–W–W–H–W. Use it over A♭7: it is the scale for unaltered dominant-seventh chords — the V7 in a major ii–V–I, and blues dominants. Below, every note is marked on the fretboard in standard tuning; press play to hear it on a synthesized guitar while each note lights up, or tap any fret to sound that note.
Visualizer
Guitar · standard tuning
Piano
Tap any note on the diagram to hear it. Play loops the scale up and down one octave in eighth notes (switch Loop off for a single pass) in the position starting at fret 4. “Show” switches or combines the fretboard and keyboard; “Sound” picks the instrument you hear. Audio is synthesized in the browser.
Reference
| Degree | Note | Interval from A♭ | Step to next |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A♭ | unison (0 semitones) | W |
| 2 | B♭ | major 2nd (2 semitones) | W |
| 3 | C | major 3rd (4 semitones) | H |
| 4 | D♭ | perfect 4th (5 semitones) | W |
| 5 | E♭ | perfect 5th (7 semitones) | W |
| 6 | F | major 6th (9 semitones) | H |
| ♭7 | G♭ | minor 7th (10 semitones) | W |
Chord it implies: A♭7 (A♭ – C – E♭ – G♭). Use it for: unaltered dominant-seventh chords — the V7 in a major ii–V–I, and blues dominants.
Common questions
A♭ B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G♭. As scale degrees: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7. It has 7 notes.
A♭ Mixolydian fits A♭7 and, more generally, unaltered dominant-seventh chords — the V7 in a major ii–V–I, and blues dominants.
1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7 — the step pattern from the root is W W H W W H W (W = whole step, H = half step).
Start on the root A♭ on the low E string at fret 4, and play the one-octave position shown: E-string fret 4, E-string fret 6, E-string fret 8, A-string fret 4, A-string fret 6, A-string fret 8, D-string fret 4, D-string fret 6. Every A♭ on the neck is a root, so the same shape works in every position where the notes are marked.
Keep going
Same scale on piano · all Mixolydian pages: Mixolydian hub · practise it in context: ii–V–I trainer · theory: chord-scale theory.
Other scales from A♭