D Mixolydian scale on guitar

The D Mixolydian scale has 7 notes: D, E, F♯, G, A, B and C. A major scale with a flat 7th. It fits dominant 7th chords perfectly, so it sounds right over blues, rock riffs and jam-band grooves.

Open in the interactive fretboard

Notes in D Mixolydian

Formula
1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7
Step pattern
W – W – H – W – W – H – W
Notes
7

Tap a note to hear it.

D Mixolydian across the neck

open123456789101112EF♯GABCDEABCDEF♯GADEF♯GABCDGABCDEF♯GBCDEF♯GABEF♯GABCDE

Every D Mixolydian note on the first 12 frets in standard tuning. Filled dots are the root, D. A good place to start: D on the A string is at fret 5, so play the notes between frets 4 and 8 first, then move up the neck.

Intervals

DegreeNoteInterval from D
1DRoot
2EMajor 2nd
3F♯Major 3rd
4GPerfect 4th
5APerfect 5th
6BMajor 6th
♭7CMinor 7th

Chords in D Mixolydian

Stack every other note of the scale and you get these triads. Any of them will sound “at home” with the D Mixolydian scale.

H = half step (1 fret), W = whole step (2 frets). Roman numerals: uppercase is major, lowercase is minor, ° is diminished, + is augmented.

Related scales

Questions

What notes are in the D Mixolydian scale?

D, E, F♯, G, A, B, C. Its formula is 1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7.

Where do I start the D Mixolydian scale on guitar?

D on the A string is at fret 5, so play the notes between frets 4 and 8 first. The fretboard map on this page shows every D Mixolydian note on the first 12 frets.

What scales are related to D Mixolydian?

It has the same notes as G major, starting from that scale’s 5th note.

More scales

Mixolydian in every key

Other scales from D

Open the scale toolChord library