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The Mixolydian mode is a musical mode
Musical mode

Mode is a term from Western music theory having three senses: the rhythmic relationship between long and short values in the late medieval period; in early medieval theory, Interval ; and, most commonly, a concept involving Musical scale and melody type ....
 or diatonic scale
Diatonic scale

In music theory, a diatonic scale is a seven note musical scale comprising five whole steps and two half steps, in which the half steps are maximally separated....
. It has the same series of tones
Major second

A major second , also called a whole step or a whole tone,One source says step is "chiefly US."The preferred usage has been argued since the 19th century:...
 and semitones as the major scale
Major scale

In music theory, the major scale or Ionian mode scale is one of the diatonic scale Musical scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher....
, except the fifth (dominant
Dominant (music)

In music, the dominant is the fifth degree of the Scale . For example, in the C major scale , the dominant is the note G; and the dominant chord uses the notes G, B, and D....
) note is taken as the tonic
Tonic (music)

The tonic is the first note of a scale in the tonality method of musical composition. The chord #The Triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord ....
 or starting (beginning) pitch
Pitch (music)

Pitch represents the perceived fundamental frequency of a sound. It is one of the three major auditory system attributes of sounds along with loudness and timbre....
 of the scale. It may also be considered a major scale with the leading tone moved down by a semitone
Semitone

A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone,Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, and others use "half tone".One source says that step is "chiefly US", and that half-tone is "chiefly N....
.

The order of tones and semitones in a Mixolydian scale is TTSTTST (T = tone
Major second

A major second , also called a whole step or a whole tone,One source says step is "chiefly US."The preferred usage has been argued since the 19th century:...
; S = semitone
Semitone

A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone,Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, and others use "half tone".One source says that step is "chiefly US", and that half-tone is "chiefly N....
), while the major scale is TTSTTTS. The key signature
Key signature

In musical notation, a key signature is a series of Sharp or Flat symbols placed on the staff , designating note s that are to be consistently played one semitone higher or lower than the equivalent natural sign notes unless otherwise altered with an Accidental ....
 varies accordingly (it will be the same as that of the major key a fifth below).

Incidentally, the order of Mixolydian tones and semitones is identical to the Dominant 7th scale.






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The Mixolydian mode is a musical mode
Musical mode

Mode is a term from Western music theory having three senses: the rhythmic relationship between long and short values in the late medieval period; in early medieval theory, Interval ; and, most commonly, a concept involving Musical scale and melody type ....
 or diatonic scale
Diatonic scale

In music theory, a diatonic scale is a seven note musical scale comprising five whole steps and two half steps, in which the half steps are maximally separated....
. It has the same series of tones
Major second

A major second , also called a whole step or a whole tone,One source says step is "chiefly US."The preferred usage has been argued since the 19th century:...
 and semitones as the major scale
Major scale

In music theory, the major scale or Ionian mode scale is one of the diatonic scale Musical scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher....
, except the fifth (dominant
Dominant (music)

In music, the dominant is the fifth degree of the Scale . For example, in the C major scale , the dominant is the note G; and the dominant chord uses the notes G, B, and D....
) note is taken as the tonic
Tonic (music)

The tonic is the first note of a scale in the tonality method of musical composition. The chord #The Triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord ....
 or starting (beginning) pitch
Pitch (music)

Pitch represents the perceived fundamental frequency of a sound. It is one of the three major auditory system attributes of sounds along with loudness and timbre....
 of the scale. It may also be considered a major scale with the leading tone moved down by a semitone
Semitone

A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone,Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, and others use "half tone".One source says that step is "chiefly US", and that half-tone is "chiefly N....
.

The order of tones and semitones in a Mixolydian scale is TTSTTST (T = tone
Major second

A major second , also called a whole step or a whole tone,One source says step is "chiefly US."The preferred usage has been argued since the 19th century:...
; S = semitone
Semitone

A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone,Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, and others use "half tone".One source says that step is "chiefly US", and that half-tone is "chiefly N....
), while the major scale is TTSTTTS. The key signature
Key signature

In musical notation, a key signature is a series of Sharp or Flat symbols placed on the staff , designating note s that are to be consistently played one semitone higher or lower than the equivalent natural sign notes unless otherwise altered with an Accidental ....
 varies accordingly (it will be the same as that of the major key a fifth below).

Incidentally, the order of Mixolydian tones and semitones is identical to the Dominant 7th scale. In other words, the C Mixolydian mode and the C Dominant 7th scale are identical.

Some examples:
  • The G Mixolydian mode (Based on C major
    Major scale

    In music theory, the major scale or Ionian mode scale is one of the diatonic scale Musical scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher....
     - on a piano
    Piano

    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
     it is all the white keys from one G to the next. GABCDEFG)
  • The C Mixolydian mode (Based on F major
    Major scale

    In music theory, the major scale or Ionian mode scale is one of the diatonic scale Musical scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher....
    . CDEFGAB?C)
  • The D Mixolydian mode (Based on G major
    Major scale

    In music theory, the major scale or Ionian mode scale is one of the diatonic scale Musical scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher....
    . DEF?GABCD)
  • The E Mixolydian mode (Based on A major
    Major scale

    In music theory, the major scale or Ionian mode scale is one of the diatonic scale Musical scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher....
    . EF?G?ABC?DE)


Greek Mixolydian


The idea of a Mixolydian mode comes from the music theory of ancient Greece
Ancient Greece

The term Ancient Greece refers to the period of History of Greece lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman Republic conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth ....
. The ancient Greek Mixolydian mode was invented by Sappho
Sappho

Sappho...
, the 7th century B.C. poet and musician. However, what the ancient Greeks thought of as Mixolydian was very different from the modern interpretation of the mode.

In Greek theory, the Mixolydian mode (or tonos) employs a scale (or 'octave species') corresponding to the Greek Hypolydian mode
Hypolydian mode

The Hypolydian mode, literally meaning 'below Lydian', is a musical mode or diatonic scale of ancient Greece that was based upon the Lydian mode tetrachord: descending , a series of falling intervals of a semitone followed by two major second....
 inverted: in its diatonic genus, this is a descending scale from paramese to hypate hypaton: a whole tone
Major second

A major second , also called a whole step or a whole tone,One source says step is "chiefly US."The preferred usage has been argued since the 19th century:...
 (paramese to mese) followed by two conjunct inverted Lydian
Lydian mode

Due to historical confusion, Lydian mode can refer to two very different musical modes or diatonic scales....
 tetrachords (each being two whole tones followed by a semitone
Semitone

A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone,Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, and others use "half tone".One source says that step is "chiefly US", and that half-tone is "chiefly N....
 descending). This is the equivalent of playing all the 'white notes' of a piano from B to B, or B C D (E) | E F G A | B. (In the chromatic and enharmonic genera, each tetrachord consists of a minor third plus two semitones, and a major third plus two quarter-tones, respectively). This happens to be theoretically the same as Hyperdorian mode, but Mixolydian seems to have been the preferred name. It also seems that this Mixolydian mode was little used by the ancient Greeks, and that it was deemed unfit for any kind of music. It is the same as the modern Locrian mode
Locrian mode

The Locrian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. It may be considered a minor scale with the second and fifth scale degrees lowered a semi-tone....
.

Medieval Mixolydian and Hypomixolydian

Medieval European music scholars understood the Greek system of modes through the Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 works of Boethius
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius

Anicius Manlius Severinus Bo?thius was a Christian or pagan philosopher of the 6th century. He was born in Rome to an ancient and important family which included emperors Petronius Maximus and Olybrius and many Roman consul....
. However, his work was misinterpreted, and the name Mixolydian came to be applied to one of the eight modes of mediaeval church music: the seventh mode. This mode does not run from B to B on white notes, as the Greek mode, but from G to G. This misinterpretation led to the current use of the term for the natural scale from G to G.

The seventh mode of western church music is an authentic mode
Authentic mode

An authentic mode is one of four Gregorian mode whose final is the lowest note of the scale . These four modes correspond to the modern modal scales starting on D , E , F , and G ....
 based on and encompassing the natural scale from G to G, with the perfect fifth
Perfect fifth

The perfect fifth is the musical interval between a note and the note seven semitones above it on the musical scale. For example, the note G lies a perfect fifth above C; D is a perfect fifth above G, C is a perfect fifth above F, and so on....
 (the D in a G to G scale) as the dominant, reciting note or tenor.

Hand in hand with this mode goes the plagal
Plagal mode

A plagal mode   is a musical mode, and one of four Gregorian modes whose range includes the octave from the fourth below the tonic, or final, to the fifth above....
 eighth mode, which was termed Hypomixolydian (or under Mixolydian). This mode was based on the same scale, but used the perfect fourth
Perfect fourth

The perfect fourth is a musical interval which spans four diatonic scale scale degree. It consists of the note and the note five semitones above it on the musical scale....
 (the C in a G to G scale) as the reciting note, and had a melodic range from the perfect fourth below the tonic to the perfect fifth above it.

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