What is the D Mixolydian b6 Scale?
Mixolydian ♭6 is the fifth mode of the melodic minor scale, blending the dominant ♭7 with a darkened ♭6 that gives it a bittersweet, almost cinematic quality. It works beautifully over dominant chords with altered extensions and shows up frequently in film scoring and Hindu-influenced fusion. Here's how the D Mixolydian b6 Scale lays out on the fretboard.
Notes and Positions
Mixolydian with a flat 6th; 5th mode of melodic minor. Also called Hindu or Melodic Major. On guitar, you can treat this as both a lead vocabulary and a way to see chord tones inside common shapes. Start with one box, then connect it to the nearest root on the next string set. In the key of D, the notes are: D, E, F#, G, A, Bb, C.
How to Use It
You'll often hear it in Jazz, Indian Classical, and Dominant chords. A good way to internalize the sound is to sing the root, then sing a few scale degrees before you play them.
Start by playing one position slowly and saying the note names or degrees out loud. Use the interactive fretboard above to spot repeats of the same note on different strings and frets.