Songs that use the Mixolydian mode

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks for watching! 🎹 If you want to discover more about music theory then check out Hook Theory: bit.ly/2RQenfg 😁🎼 and let me know if you can think of any other Mixolydian songs!

[@ShirubaGin]

I wasn't expecting a hooktheory sponsorship. It's a good site.

[@gassug2]

@@ShirubaGin indeed. i use hookpad all the time

[@MrMalcovic]

Is Mother by Tori Amos en Mixolydian?

[@gassug2]

@@MrMalcovic looking at the chords, it appears to be in F# minor. it does use a lot of suspended, add 6, add 9, and add 11 chords which im guessing can imitate the "open" sound that mixolydian has.

[@MrMalcovic]

@@gassug2 Thanks for your reply!

[@vanlopes1687]

- Beatles example ✅ - Radiohead example ✅ - "What would it sound in a different mode, like major" example ✅

[@rokozaki]

Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

[@Ofreshco]

And?

[@AR-qn9mq]

Melody Composer Squared ✅

[@leonardohonorato3652]

Checklist done

[@krimson_flux]

Yup, it's complete alright

[@badusername723]

I’ve really been loving the kind of end credits music you play at the end, it’s a really nice and unique touch to your videos

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks! 😃😃

[@karienrothmann9395]

Loveleeee!!!

[@OnTheShouldersofScience]

Because the bagpipes only have one scale of notes to play, most bagpipe songs are in Bb mixolydian. It's a long way to the top (if you want to rock 'n' roll) famously has the bagpipes, and no surprise, the song is in Bb mixolydian. By the way, the notes on a bagpipe from lowest to highest are G, A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G, A. But to complicate things, over the years, what 'A' means to bagpipers has slowly raised in pitch, meaning that what a bagpiper calls A is actually closer to a Bb. So a classical musician would refer to the notes on the bagpipes as Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb. And Bb (what bagpipers call A) is usually the root note of the melody being played, making it Bb mixolydian. The drones on a bagpipe (the 3 long tube things sticking out of the bagpipes) actually continuously drone a Bb note (again, what bagpipers call A) which is why most songs conform to having a Bb root. But if Eb is the root note (what we bagpipers call D), such as in Amazing Grace, then the song is in Eb major.

[@bagpie]

Well described but it’s probably worth pointing out, for the benefit of folk who are not familiar with pipes, that you are talking about The Great Highland Bagpipe from Scotland. There are many other bagpipes with a variety of keys, scales and modes.

[@DSchwachhofer]

Yeah, I once played in a Folk Metal Band where we had a Scottish Piper. We ended stuffing his drones and tuning his pipe to exactly Bb mixolydian. But as we played Metal we tuned down our Guitars to C and played everything in C Minor. I remember transposing the notation for this guy was really horrible. :) Also the melodies where really limited as in C Minor the pipe had no octave note and no 5th down.

[@FernandoGabriele]

I think David Bennett is the best music theory teacher in KZbin. I love the way he describes the mood and tensions of each mode - it's like "seeing" music, not only hearing it. I wish I had access to those videos 45 years ago, when I started playing the guitar using chord charts from magazines... Being 55 years old now, and until recently totally unaware of scales and modes, the learning path seems overwhelming, but David has surely flattened the curve for me.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

That’s great to hear Fernando! I’m glad you’re finding the videos helpful 😃

[@JemmyGrove]

This is the best treatment of modes and modal scales I've seen on youtube. As a music theory teacher I'm constantly looking for useful examples and helpful tools, and David covers it incredibly well. Highest recommendations.

[@kurt1391]

Unfortunately he didn't seem to understand the difference between modes and scales. He said "Mixolydian scale" a couple times, but it's not a scale. The Mixolydian mode is the fifth mode of the major scale.

[@clemlvn9598]

Oh I can’t wait for you to cover the Lydian mode! This is gold content.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you! 😃

[@oliviapetrowski4553]

Do the Dorian mode! I have a friend named Dorian and I like to tease him about it lol

[@clemlvn9598]

@@oliviapetrowski4553 he already did!

[@clemlvn9598]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJC9q62qmZqNec0

[@nobodyinteresting9967]

I always thought Bitter Sweet Symphony and Clocks must have something in common because they sound related now I know.

[@Adma29]

Genuinely you are one of my favourite channels on KZbin i always get excited when I see that you’ve uploaded

[@mikeriesco6174]

Your modes videos are uniformly excellent! Seeing this Mixolydian video, and also the Dorian one, something finally "clicked" in my head, as to how to recognize the 'sound' of these 2 Modes: songs that feature a major I chord (Tonic) and a minor V Chord (dominant) are Mixolydian (such as the Hey Jude outtro, the Lorde song in your video, etc). Whereas songs that feature a minor I chord (Tonic) and a major IV chord (subdominant) are Dorian -- such as Santana's "Evil Ways", Pink Floyd's "Breathe", etc. So simple!

[@DemonSlide]

"Times Like These" by Foo Fighters is also in Mixolydian. :)

[@juhosarkka]

Awesome jam at the end David. Great video as always 👍

[@oscarh5439]

Great videos David

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks Oscar!

[@bennyt4840]

Bruh how did you watch it when it came out 12 minutes ago😭

[@Oswlek]

The "bluesy major" feel of Mixolydian is why harmonica players often use a C-harp when a song is in G major or a F-harp in C major, etc.

[@Em4gdn1m]

Gorgeous piece at the end. You have great taste in music. Love your videos.

[@rome8180]

I wish more mixolydian songs would use that minor v chord. When rock music uses mixolydian, it seems to focus on the I, VII, and IV. I find that v chord to be the most striking and beautiful one in this mode.

[@kirjian]

Check out Revelation Song by Kari Jobe, it uses the v chord. Please let me know if you know any others! I love that sound as well

[@crasherdgrate]

This video has changed my understanding of music! I am not much into music theory, just beginner to intermediate level. I play the guitar, but not much into scales but rythm. But ive always had an ear for music. I always loved a particular type of sound in music while growing up. When I bought my guitar and got basic chords, i understand i liked major scales and major chords. But it always bugged me that a particular form of major chords/scales always intrigued me. This explains video explaina it all. It's the Mixolydian scale that my mind's been chasing. I have loved almost all the examples of songs in this video, and the others were the ones I hadn't heard. I've added them all to my list. I cant explain what I've found.

[@shoopdawhoop]

For me, in Bittersweet Symphony, the Mixolydian scale defines the weak tonal center, somewhere between E, F#, and G major, and this brings out this ethereal and heavenly feeling. And after it had been converted to Major scale to demonstrate the concept, despite it now technically more resolved it felt absolutely flat, straight-up, and simple, like some newbie doing the tutorial, just opened the DAW and got some random walkings around the piano keys around the scale. It's incredible how much just the Mixolydian scale itself does an excellent job of bringing out the emotion, like, the most brilliant usage I've seen so far.

[@mike196212]

A few months ago while perusing either a Led Zeppelin or Jimi Hendrix songbook(I forget which;I don't read music but know chords I follow if I know the song) I came across the word mixolydian. Didn't have a clue what it meant. My Mom,a pianist who had been trained classically,would have known but died in 1999. Friend of mine,a musician proficient on keyboards,guitar and trumpet(he played in a popular band in his home city of Ottawa), gave me the explanation I was after. Fascinating. Like your site a lot.

[@AnCoSt1]

loved the rhythms in the last piece at the end

[@suspect3539]

I absolutely love improvising in mixolydian because I feel like I can transition between blues and major. Definitely my favorite mode/scale.

[@OurgasmComrade]

Thanks David! Some additional songs that I would have also liked to have seen: The Beatles - She Said She Said Bob Dylan - Gates of Eden David Bowie - Heroes Gordon Lightfoot - Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Hendrix - Burning of the Midnight Lamp

[@madnessbydesign1415]

You Sir, have moved solidly into the 'click thumbs-up' before the video even starts category. Since I took just enough theory to get into trouble, you've helped show me what I missed, and why I should have doubled my efforts. Thank you! :)

[@pianoman47]

Mixolydian is to secondary subdominants as the ii-V-I progression is to secondary dominants. Thanks, I had noticed this before but never thought about it.

[@rileydermanuelian7307]

The chorus of Midlife Crisis by Faith No More is another I-bVII-IV chord progression: "You're perfect, yes, it's true, but without me, you're only you"

[@forzer45]

I wish I had these videos back when I studied music theory to get my cello degree... Would have made understanding theory much easier. My teacher only talked in very technical terms and rarely had any examples. I _knew_ theory but I didn't _understand_ it and the functions of different concepts...

[@plalol]

If I am not wrong, the sound of mixolydian reminds me a lot of celtic music and also the music with bagpipes in scotland

[@reillywalker195]

You're not wrong.

[@hannahl.9614]

I love learning about new scales! It explains why I love all of these songs even though they are different styles and genres of music. So cool!

[@suniso370]

It's too late, and I really have to sleep but I just discovered your channel and I can't stop watching. If I only had a teacher like you back when I went to music school...

[@Timliu92]

The beginning of the Verse of The Beatles' She's Leaving Home is also in E Mixolydian, which is why it sounds rather deep and mellow despite being in a major tonality. In "Wednesday morning at 5 O'CLOCK as the day begins.....", the chords used are E - Bm - F# m7 - C# m7 and fall within E Mixolydian (particularly the Bm chord), and the "...5 o'clock..." had a D natural or the b7 degree of the mode instead of D#.

[@bernhardkrickl3567]

I don't know if it's mixolydian all the way through, but "With a little help from my friends" in the version of Joe Cocker prominently uses that flat 7 - 4 - 1 progression a lot. Which I totally love about it.

[@Gozoman24]

The Beatles were big on mixolydian! Off the top of my head, the end section of Hey Jude, as well as Love Me Do, Hello Goodbye, and Day Tripper are all in mixolydian.

[@davongs]

Best description of modes I've heard so far - I almost understand modes now!!

[@breeselearning9915]

Breese learning would like to thank you for this excellent, clear and concise tutorial. We love your work. Muchas gracias.

[@instrumentosfantasticos6189]

Mixolydian is very commun here in Brazil, in "Baião" from Luiz Gonzaga

[@gardnerfiddle2927]

I like to call it the Scottish mode because we use it A LOT!!!

[@shrutichakravarti]

I always love your compositions that u put in the end.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Cheers!

[@kalebbrown5916]

you have helped me catch some things previously elusive, so, thank you

[@jackconnolly2665]

I generally don't know WTF you are talking about but I love to know why things like the Clocks riff and Bittersweet Symphony sound great to me. I appreciate your knowledge and your attempts to share it with people. Peace

[@flyerpiper]

The Great Highland Bagpipe is a very mixolydian oriented instrument. The drones produce a constant "A", and the scale we generally use is A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G, A. If we were to use a G#, it would sound rather harsh against the constant "A" note of the drones. The low G at the bottom of our scale really gives the bagpipe its unique sound, in my opinion. The tune "Cabar Feidh" and it really emphasizes the Mixolydian G natural! kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnSydqicjsapntk

[@kylim_music]

Your explanation is so clear. Thanks for the high quality videos

[@dfailsthemost]

It's a very rock thing to drop a whole step even just keeping the chord major.

[@robertdoucette6858]

Great tutorial dude! Friggin loved it. Cheers from 🇨🇦

[@victorwilburn8588]

This is so perfectly illustrated and explained. Well done.

[@Wind-nj5xz]

0:50 Sounds like an LG ad

[@LeafBlade_]

Great video! Mixolydian scales are very commonly used in traditional Irish music as well, In fact quite a lot of the music is written in DMix, for example Paddy's Green Shamrock Shores.

[@marcosquitopianolounge6350]

Comgratulations for the great work ! Very didactics !!!

[@pedrod.7576]

Great jam at the end of the video!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

thanks!!

[@MrBallooning]

Bravo! Thank you a lot!

[@anissiaart6167]

Remember how I figured that OST Friends was in mixolydian and was so proud ))

[@slavatoin8273]

12:40 sounds like Dream Theater’s About to Crash.

[@ChordyRingler]

The chorus to Boston’s song “Long Time” definitely sounds like the 1 flat 7 4 progression that you mentioned.

[@mohambobujambo]

great intro to your work. instant fan!

[@Rednoi]

wow! brilliant video and explanation.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you 😀😀

[@harpharpharpharp1971]

Very enlightening, but I wonder how many of the songwriters, and musicians identified as using the mixolydian scale would actually know what a mixolydian scale is or have any clue what David is talking about. What most likely happened is that while improvising and experimenting they played it like that because that is how they liked it and then someone wrote it down. An interviewer once referred to Jethro Tull Flautist Ian Anderson "clearly" being influenced by Roland Kirk, to which he replied "Who?". A classical pianist recently analysed what is going on when I play the harmonica. Just like this video, it was fascinating, but I hadn't the foggiest idea what she was talking about. She mentioned chord sequences and techniques that after 60 years of playing, I know nothing whatsoever about. But apparently I play them. For decades, I played mostly blues, but I couldn't tell you the difference between a so-called Blues Scale and a pound of chopped liver. These videos are very interesting and educational, but don't get hung up on any of it. Play what you like and then (if you can) write it down or record it. As Duke Ellington pointed out, "If it sounds good it's good". With all due respect to David, whose analysis is probably priceless for someone studying for a degree in musical composition, I would say Stuff the theory. Tune your ears. Make a beautiful noise, and let someone else analyse it afterwards if it amuses them. Probably after you are dead when some genius makes a series of videos about your life and works, which you would probably find hilarious. By the way Dave.. What do the hand gestures mean? You look like you are stacking invisible boxes on the shelves in a supermarket. Who loves ya? Be safe and live long. And keep making the videos. I can hear the difference when you give examples, and It's fun. I like to sing it both examples, but I would never have arrived at being able to do that by knowing the nuts and bolts of musical theory. Actually, I am kind of glad that I was never taught much about it because it would have filled me with such creativity damaging inhibitions that I would have quit playing.

[@benwright2855]

Something I haven't seen discussed about modes (or maybe it's so obvious it doesn't get mentioned) is that you can use them to add colour to a contrasting section of a piece. You can pick a mode of your original scale and write a section assuming that new tonic root. The most obvious case is a chorus in major and a verse in the relative minor, but you can use any you choose. Using major/mixolydian gets you a perfect cadence for free when you return to the chorus, major/lydian allows you to step up to the V after ending on the IV for a similar effect. It just seems like such a natural way to get a change of mood and brightness that I'm surprised I've not seen it explicitly referenced. But as I said, maybe it's just too obvious.

[@tinusplotseling3130]

You give a clear explanation on how basic music theory works. Very simple, easy to understand. Great job! However, I have my doubts about 'Clocks' and 'Bittersweet Symphony' being in E flat and E major. I feel like this really depends on how you interpret these songs. For me, it doesn't sound like clocks is in E flat, its in A flat, but the song starts on the 5th step, which doesn't change anything about this melody, but this context is really important, I think. The same thing happens in Bittersweet Symphony (basically the same chord progression).

[@vhego]

These type of videos are so good

[@10mssound]

Nirvana's All Apologies is a great mixolydian example

[@DonRamiro1]

Hook Theory...interesting concept. I always wanted to know the theory behind many a song. Norwegian Wood is a great example of how the tone changes in the middle ocho which makes me wish I could have been a fly on the wall when the Beatles were arranging that song. I often wonder "did John just sing it and then George Martin figured out 'ok, this is what's going on with that.'" John had to have known what he was doing but did he look at if from the standpoint of "it's in this mode here but we're gonna switch to this mode over here..." I'd love to know how that all played out.

[@LaurinaHawks]

That was very enlightening. Thank you!

[@GustavEkky]

Before watching this, i don't some stuff like that, now i know some of my songs has mixotonyan tone

[@iliaslef]

I'm trying to understand the feeling of a C mixolydian but honestly I think it's just an overcomplicated F major

[@musitect]

C mixolydian scale is the F major scale, but starting from a different place

[@iliaslef]

@@musitect yes theoretically I get that but in a song the melody is all over the place so that means it can be the relative lydian, minor, mixolydian etc. So from my understanding you have to cut the melody in parts if you want to analyze its scale

[@robertlittlejohn7394]

I found out that Gordon Lightfoot wrote The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald was written in A Mixolydian, as the 7th degree is flattered, thus creating an E minor sound in thir Dominant, also converting what would have been a Leading Time G# chord into a Subtonic flat-VII G major chord - both of which are used the song.

[@robertterrell3065]

Years ago when I was really studying theory, I realized I loved Mix the best of the Modes. But now, I'm paying close attention and I see why back in the day, I was instantly drawn to Hey Jude and Cars. Well, the underlying reason... Their Mode :)

[@hibald]

Mixolydian is the most natural scale, as it uses almost exclusively natural harmonics, perfect fourth being the only exception.

[@Slaydrik]

I think Love Shack switches between C mixolydian and C Dorian but really accentuates the flat 7 throughout the entire song

[@Slaydrik]

or at least it starts in mixolydian and just switches to C minor?

[@joshuabroyles7565]

Explaining modes as alterations of Major or Minor scales distorts musical ontology. Modes are prime to keys and should be explained as prime to keys before providing the other way of looking at them. Major keys developed when the cadential fictae of Mixolydian were extended to pervade the larger pitch texture. Mixolydian does not lower the 7th from Major; Major raises the 7th from Mixolydian.

[@reginaldperiwinkle]

Your videos always get me thinking about how music works. You should do a video that includes Lithium by Nirvana. The verse melody ascends in the major scale and then descends in the minor (landing back on major). The lyrics match the melody too -- seemingly happy and then almost instantly deflated -- musical painting. I'm not sure why the major minor interplay works, and maybe there is some category it fits in. Seems like a good one for you. On Mixolydian, it almost seems to resolve downwards, which is gentler, whereas the major scale seems to resolve upwards. Mixolydian is probably gentler because it resolves from the fourth, which already has the root note in it, and is just going slightly down from the other two notes.

[@laurenblainebamartistmgt]

Was “Me and My Arrow” by Nilsson in a Mixolydian mode. The melody is very interesting.

[@MacGyver5AF]

Vast majority of rock'n'roll songs exist thanks to mixolydian mode. One of the best examples is, in my opinion - Frankie Ford - Sea Cruise... Another could be Good Golly Miss Molly by Little Richard.

[@YoBitchv]

Thanks for this video!

[@lachinita_esa1086]

Vienna by Billy Joel! The progression is slightly different, it adds the 5 between 1 and b7, I so it goes 1 5 b7 4. The first time I heard this song I thought that b7 was just mind-blowing to me

[@RubALamp]

Mixolydian is my favourite mode.

[@shiv2033]

Radiohead ☑️ The Beatles ☑️ Oh yeah,I am on David's channel.

[@EmoryBlake4Music]

Something interesting I just noticed while watching this. Take the penultimate note of any mode and place it at the beginning of the previous scale. Each time you do that, you will move one mode lower (towards the ionian mode) than the one you just played. So in C mixolydian, the penultimate note is Bb. Starting and ending on Bb results in the lydian mode. The mode that exists one scale degree lower than mixolydian. In Bb lydian, the penultimate note is A. Now going from A to A (still utilizing the Bb) we create A phrygian which is one scale degree lower than lydian. Keep repeating and the result is always the same. Yes, I understand the pattern is easy to see and I understand why it works. But why didnt I notice until just now is beyond me.

[@joaquindominguezmorales7698]

Another great song in myxolydian is "In Repair" by John Mayer

[@iandavidson3935]

How about Flower of Scotland? Some people play or sing it with F# as the third last note in the verse (when played in the key of G), but I think it sounds better with F natural.

[@MinhTran-lz8nk]

All Apologies by Nirvana and No Rain by Blind Melon are mixolydian faves of mine.

[@DeGuerre]

It's not a song, but shoutout to the closing credits for Star Trek: The Motion Picture by Jerry Goldsmith, also used as the theme for The Next Generation. And by the way, when I heard I -> bVII -> IV, the first song I thought of was "Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

[@MarioFan171]

Fun Fact: The Diamond Rush Title Screen Theme Song is in C Mixolydian

[@JoBot__]

A mixolydian is one of my favorite scales, alongside G major and C dorian.

[@FernandoFernandez_192]

Mixo is my favorite scale. Many of my favorite songs of all time are based on this mode. If I'm not mistaken, Glasgow Kiss by John Petrucci is also mixo.

[@FPSBuzz]

Lou reed used mixolydian a lot in the velvet underground. Rock n Roll and Oh Sweet Nuthin are some examples.

[@he1ar1]

the first song that comes to mind when i think mixolydian is war pigs by black sabbath. The melody is E mixolydian.

[@kirilvelinov7774]

Electric Eel is in D minor(C mixolydian)

[@vspatmx7458]

Priceless Thank you

[@nabeshin7741]

_Walk Like an Egyptian_ by The Bangles is written in B myxolidian.

[@septemberhimmel]

Love your videos, David! They make me analyze songs I’ve already written and get me curious about trying some chord progressions I’ve never thought of before! Also, there’s always a Beatles example for everything

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks! 😀

[@owenmartin3307]

My song "Follow your heart" starts in D, modulates to the A, goes through a load of minor chords, and ends on the E. I then have to return back to a D. I have no idea what scale its in.

[@tonybates7870]

It's probably not in any one scale. As you say, it modulates.

[@averysax6429]

The new music Tonal Scale is as thus: 12 7 5 2 3 : 1 4 5 9 14 Not 12 with 7 & 5 BUT 14 with 9 & 5 [2^(1/14)] These are the Tonal Scales growing from f (by cycles of fifths): All Scales build from the first mode: equivalent to Lydian f White keys are = & Black keys are | 12 with 7 & 5 [2^(1/12)] =|=|=|==|=|= {1,8,3,10,5,12,7,2,9,4,11,6} 1thru7are= 8thru12are| 7 with 5 & 2 [2^(1/7)] ===|==| {1,3,5,7,2,4,6} 1thru5are= 6&7are| 5 with 2 & 3 [2^(1/5)] =||=| {1,3,5,2,4} 1&2are= 3thru5are| Now evolving up the other end 5 with 4 & 1 [2^(1/5)] ==|== {1,3,5,2,4} 1thru4are= 5is| 9 with 5 & 4 [2^(1/9)] =|=|=|==| {1,8,3,7,5,9,2,4,6} 1thru5are= 6thru9are| 14 with 9 & 5 [2^(1/14)] =|=|===|=|===| {1,12,3,14,5,7,9,11,2,13,4,6,8,10} 1thru9are= 10thru14are| Joseph Yasser is the actual originator of the realization, that scales develop by cycles of fifths. www.seraph.it/blog_files/623ba37cafa0d91db51fa87296693fff-175.html www.academia.edu/4163545/A_Theory_of_Evolving_Tonality_by_Joseph_Yasser www.musanim.com/Yasser/ The chromatic scale we use today is divided by 2^(1/12) twelfth root of two Instead of moving to the next higher: the 19 tone scale 2^(1/19) nineteenth root of two I decided to go all the way down and back up the other end: So 12 - 7 is 5 & 7 - 5 is 2 & 5 - 2 is 3 Now we enter to the other side: 2 - 3 is (-1)* & 3 - (-1) is 4* & (-1) - 4 is (-5)* & 4 - (-5) is 9* & (-5) - 9 is (-14)* ignoring the negatives we have * 1 4 5 9 14 Just follow the cycles how each scale is weaved together, as shown above. Each scale has its own division within the frequency doubling, therefore the 14 tone scale is 2^(1/14) fourteenth root of two

[@LimpBizkitMix]

Mixolydian mode + penatonic scale = rock & roll, baby

[@amirulwafa8302]

As a mixolydian enjoyer i already knew the song by looking at the thumbnail

[@lawls1337]

Your mixolydian song at the end sounds like sims 1 build music.

[@HrHTeam]

I love how John Williams is on the brighter side of the spectrum lol.

[@mattbrown995]

I wonder if the ascending runs in the chorus of 'The Man Who Sold The World' are a mixolydian scale.

[@ENSOTAVES]

Excellent!

[@zachary963]

Funk seems to enjoy using mixolydian. Mama said by lenny kravitz specifically comes to mind.

[@MrFrankqu58]

I do not know any of these new millennium songs that you are playing, however, the dynamics of learning the Mixolydian 5th note of the major scale makes it interesting.

[@Music-AsLife]

Great video man.