The name of a Mixolydian scale appears. Your task is to draw its 8 notes on the staff. The Mixolydian scale is the major scale with the 7th lowered by a half step (♭7): it sounds major but with a more open, "modal" ending, common in blues, rock and folk music.
How to use the exercise: Click (or drag) on the staff to place each note. First choose the accidental with the ♭ ♮ ♯ buttons if the note needs one. Undo removes the last note and Clear restarts the exercise. The notes are sorted automatically from low to high. The magnifier shows the note you are about to place.
The pattern of the Mixolydian scale
The Mixolydian scale follows the pattern W – W – H – W – W – H – W (UK: tone and semitone). It is the same as the major scale except at the end: the 7th is a whole step below the octave (not a half step), because it has been lowered by a half step compared with the major scale.
| Degree | Step | C Mixolydian | G Mixolydian | F Mixolydian |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | — | C | G | F |
| 2nd | W | D | A | G |
| 3rd | W | E | B | A |
| 4th | H | F | C | B♭ |
| 5th | W | G | D | C |
| 6th | W | A | E | D |
| 7th | H | B♭ | F | E♭ |
| 8th | W | C | G | F |
Mixolydian and the major scale: one accidental apart
Each Mixolydian scale uses the notes of the major scale on the same tonic with one change, the lowered 7th. So G Mixolydian has exactly the notes of C major (no accidentals), and C Mixolydian only adds one B♭. Thinking "major with the leading tone lowered" is the fastest way to build it.
To lock these scales into your fingers, practice them with the online metronome at 60-70% of your target tempo, raising it by 5 BPM each time you play three repetitions without mistakes. The online tuner lets you check your tuning before you start.
Printable worksheet (PDF)
The same exercise on paper, for class: eight Mixolydian scales to write without a key signature, with each accidental before its note. With a separate answer sheet, with the answers in red.
It goes from easier to harder: first key signatures with few accidentals in treble clef, then more accidentals and the bass clef.
Download the worksheet (PDF A4) Answers
You may print and photocopy the worksheets freely for the classroom. There are also worksheets of this same type for identifying and writing with a key signature, and in the scales index you can create custom worksheets, mixing whichever types you like.