l-f,{{ililfiii

ONTHECD {6, Tracks 39-48

Mixolydian bO Scale
ln his continuing journey through the modes of Melodic
Minor, this month Pete Caltard clambers up the foothiLls
of mode 5, or as the [oca[s cattit, Mixotydian b6...

wh ch has a #4th Th s does mean

that it willwork over one type of

&e&& dom nant 7th chord that ne ther

Mode16te/Advanced
Will improve your:
g Harmony knowledge and
application
El Scale vocabulary
M Jazz solo ng
OVER THE PAST few nronths
we've been look ng at the modes
of the Melodic m nor scale,
startinq w th the Melodic rninor
scale itself back in GTl28 and 129.
This month and next we?e going
10 be exam n n9 in detailthe
rnode taken from the ffth degree
of the sca e. The nterva s of the
mode are 1,2, 3,4, 5, b6, b7 (in
A, the notes A, B, C#, D, E, F, G),
giving us bas ca ly the Mixoiydian
rnode but with the 6th flatted,
hence the rather imag nat ve
name Mixolydian b6. The Iirst
5tep in using any new scale is to
find out what chords il willwork
over, and to do this we need to
harrnonise the sca e (bulld a 7th
chord frorn the scale by tak ng
the lst, 3rd, 5th and 7th notes).
Th s wou d g ve us the intervals 1,
3, 5, b7 (in A, the notes A, C#, E
and G), making a domlnant 7th
chord- This tells us that Mixolydian
b6 willwork over dominant 7th
chords lsee Diagram 2l
So do we actually need yet
another scale for dominant 7th
chords? Well, I would say that
rather depends on what the scale
Altered or Lyd an b7 works over
- dominant 7sus4 chords (e.9. t\
A7sus4, A9sus4, G/A). i=
50 we've established that
Mixolydian b6 willwork on
dominant 7sus4 chords, but so
does the standard Mixolydran
mode (Ex 2). The one d fference
between these two scales is
the b6ln Mixolydian b6 (in
A, the note F), and this does
lead to sorne interestinq chord
progress ons...
One of the key features of the
scale, harmonically speaking, is
that it gives you a dominant 7th
chord from the root and Irom the
7th degree, meaning that t wil
work over tunes lke K ler loe, On
Broadv/ay and Tequ la that feature
a dom nant 7th chord folowed
by another one a whole step
down (Ex 3a). Another feature
ofthe sca e s that the V chord is
minoL so you can play it over both
chords on a minor V-l progression
(eg 47- Dm. A Mixolydian b6
is the same as D Melodic m nor
overthe Dm chord), as heard n
Co dplay's Politik. lt also eaves
Ilfm'Ilrrilfi-
s[ For the tracks
dominant 7b13 chords, but the mentioned,l'd
natural 2nd and perfect 5th mean re(ommend
it's not a great choice on resolving Simon Rattle s
dominant 7th chords (for more on ' EMl recording

When it comes to p aying on of Szymanowik's stabat Mater

dorn nant 7th chords, we're pretty
spoiled for choice; eavinq as de
pentaton c options, we've already
got IVixolydian from the malor
scale modes and (depending on
whether it's resolvlng or not),
Lydian b7 or Altered scale from
the Melodic minor scale modes.
can offer us...
First of a l, what does it
actua y sound ike (Ex 1), and
what sets it apart Jrom any of
the other options? lf we pLrt
it up against Ate.ed, it's not
really an altered scale -the only
alteration is the bl3th (b6th),
so theoretically it will work over
resolvinq dominant 7th chords,
see GTl33 and 134).
lf we.ompare it to Lydian b7
(our new favourite scale on non-
reso ving dominant 7th chords-
see GT139 and 140), the b6 is the
obvious difference between the
two scales, but Mixolydian b6 also
has a perfect 4th unlike Lydian bZ
Babooshka can befound on Kate
Busht compr ation The Who e
Story, fo dpay's Polt k s the
open ng lrack on A Rush Of B ood
To The Head and Star ight can be
found on Slrpermen Love6' The
Playe. KrLer Joe, On Broadway and
Tequ la are a lstandards that can be
heard in n!merous veryons

dowe actually need yet anotherscale on dominant Zth

So
chords? Well, that rather depends on what the scale can offer us...
8O GuitalTechniques February 2008
you with a iavoun'Le chord based around subst tuted rn(mij7) DIAGRAM 1 MIXOLYDIAN
sequence of mine lvm bvl 7 pentatonics afd Dornlnant 7th
- 17 (in A: Dm G7 A7), featured arpegg os Mixolydian b6
in tunes like Babooshka by Kate A though a sca e that's fot 3 notes per
I I,
Bush, and for ihose of a more as freqLrently used as some, string shape
ihe luminous fina
classical beni,
movemeni of Szymanowski's
M xo yd an b6 does ha,re a
th;t's a pl-"as ng,
d strnctive 50Lrnd
5ll I ,(
sublime Stabat Mater (Ex 3c). somewhat w stfu rn x bet!4J-a-.n
With any new sca e lt can take .najor and m nor, rtlrtheb6
I ,{ )
a litt e while to get the shapes br ng ng out the so!nd of the D
under your f ngers, so ExarnpLes rninor tr ad bu t from the 4th.
,$, )
4 and 5 (and dlagrams 3 and There'l be more on th s fasc nating
4) feature a coup e of ldeas for twist on the M xo yd an sca e next ) I)
getting the sound of lvlxolydian '
rnonth so see you then n the
b6 lnto your playing more quickly, meant me, get practs ngl GT

Mixolydian b6
CAGED shape

DIAGRAM 2 HARMONISING THE A MIXOLYDIAN b6 SCALE

1 2 3 4 5 ,6 ,7 1 3 s ,7

DIAGRAM 2 HARMONISING THE A MIXOLYDIAN b6 SCALE

( ,6 ) I I (5

, I ) ( ){ ) ) ) (

I ) )
D(
5 I

,5 ) I ) I) 5, ( )(
( I) I I
R47 5R [: s n l z 4 7b3s R4 5 R47 5 7b3 s R4 7
l,3sR 4 7)3 47b3sR4 5 R 4 7t3 s z[rsn 4 7 R 4 7 t35 R
\
 tEffXilfii] ONTHECD : Tracks 39-48

DIAGRAII 2 HARMONISING THE A MIXOLYDIAN b6 SCALE ...CONT

I) ( )

I (5 , (5 (
5 I (

() ()

) ) ( (
5 I) ( I 6, )
) (
5
3sR3173 3[zlsar salfzrs bzssnsbz
t7 sR sR bt s t7 sR bz n L7 sR
sR btz

1 A MIXOLYDIAN b6
Examp e I leatures the sound of A l"4irolyd an b6 p ayed over an A7 chord

Examp e 2 features the cornpiral ve 5ounds of A M xolydian then A

Mixolyd an b5 p ayed over a dom nant Tsus4.hord n th s c.se G/A.

EXAMPLE 3 MIXOLYDIAN b6 PROGRESSIONS ON THE CD

Exarnpie f featLrres some c ass c M xoiydian b6 proqressrons, the f rst based mov ng llori the chord to the Vm (hord n A |r'1 xo ydran b6) , and the
around dom nant 7th chords a vrho e step apart, the seaond arourld a th rd based around a lvm bV 7 7 sequence
rn nor V resolLrtron (a though, to be exnct, n thls nstance wete actua ly
I
(

3
R
Lr

82 GuitalTechniques February 2008

 I-Hd{il,rilfiil

EXAPT.E 3 MIXOLYDIAN b6 PROGRESSIONS ...CONTINUED ON THECD

EXAMPLE 4 DM(MAJ' ARPEGGIO OVER 47 ONTHECD

Eramp e 4 featLrres the m(mal7) pentaton c sca e that we looked at back Dm(mal7) pentaton c over 47 see D agram #3) qive5 us the nterva 5 1, 3,
n GTl28. P aying this from the Iourth degree of the s.ale (eq tn A, p aV nq 4, b6, b7, wh ch highlghts the key tofes of lhe s.a e.

EXAI{PLE 5 G7 ARPEGGIO OVER ONTHE CD

Anolher substitulron rdea is to play a dom nant 71h arpeggio do,rn a whole the Lydian b7 penlaton c scale we diScLrssed baci in GTl40 down
p ay a
step from the root of the chord (eg n A, play ng a G7 arpeqqio over A7 who e step, wh ch would add the lrd).
see d aqram #4), br ng ng out the ntervals 2, 4, b6, b7 (you could a so

d Jr :-____z__7 o
--
E
B
6
D

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