What notes are in the A mixolydian scale?

A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G, A. On a GDAE-tuned mandolin the whole scale sits in first position, between the open strings and fret 6.

What chords go with A mixolydian?

A, G, Em carry most tunes in A mixolydian, with D as passing and turnaround chords. Two or three chords are enough: Irish accompaniment stays out of the tune's way.

What scale do I play over a A chord?

In an Irish session the chord follows the tune, not the other way round. If the tune is in A mixolydian, every note of the scale above fits over its chords, including A and G and Em. That is how melody players improvise variations without reading anything: they stay inside the tune's own scale.

How many Irish tunes are in A mixolydian?

This site's collection has 26 tunes recorded in Amix out of 2701 in total, each with free GDAE tab. The corpus is O'Neill's 1903 and 1907 collections plus Kerr's Merry Melodies, so the balance reflects the tradition as it was written down.

Mandolin · scales

A mixolydian scale on mandolin

A major with the seventh flattened. Piping keys territory: a big, open sound with G naturals ringing against the A.

Hear the scale, played on the banjo voice

The notes

ABC#DEF#GA

Every note above sits in first position on a GDAE-tuned mandolin: nothing higher than fret 6, and each note has one home. Learn the scale as a shape and your fingers know where every note of every A mixolydian tune lives before you have heard it.

The chords that go with it

CoreAGEm

TurnaroundsD

This is the connection that makes session playing make sense. The backer's chords are built from the same 7 notes as the scale, so when the guitar holds A, anything you play from the A mixolydian scale fits. Melody players who seem to improvise freely are doing exactly this: decorating the tune with notes that never leave its own scale. Shapes for every chord here are on the mandolin chord page.

Mixolydian is a major sound with a flattened seventh. That one changed note is why a chord a whole step below the home chord keeps appearing behind these tunes.

Tunes in A mixolydian

26 of the 2701 tunes on this site are recorded in Amix. A dozen to start on, in alphabetical order - every one has free GDAE tab, playback and the ABC source.

Bonaparte's defeathornpipe Farewell to Irelandreel Fiddler's heavenjig Fiddlers' Heavenjig Gillan's Applesjig He Left Us in Sorrowair John O'Dwyer of the Glen Kitty Quinnjig Little Katie Kearneyreel Saddle the ponyjig The black haired lassreel The green groves of Erinreel

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FAQ

Questions about A mixolydian

A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G, A. On a GDAE-tuned mandolin the whole scale sits in first position, between the open strings and fret 6.
A, G, Em carry most tunes in A mixolydian, with D as passing and turnaround chords. Two or three chords are enough: Irish accompaniment stays out of the tune's way.
In an Irish session the chord follows the tune, not the other way round. If the tune is in A mixolydian, every note of the scale above fits over its chords, including A and G and Em. That is how melody players improvise variations without reading anything: they stay inside the tune's own scale.
This site's collection has 26 tunes recorded in Amix out of 2701 in total, each with free GDAE tab. The corpus is O'Neill's 1903 and 1907 collections plus Kerr's Merry Melodies, so the balance reflects the tradition as it was written down.