C Flat Mixolydian Mode on the Guitar – 5 CAGED Positions, Tabs and Theory

‘C flat mixolydian’ is the 5th mode of the F flat Major scale. The notes in Cb Mixolydian are:

Cb – Db – Eb – Fb – Gb – Ab – Bbb

If you have read the post on understanding the mixolydian mode, you will know that the mixolydian mode contains a ‘flat 7’ (parallel approach). You will also know that it is the 5th mode of the major scale (derivative approach).

Because the flat 7′ (or ‘lowered 7’) is the only difference between the mixolydian mode and the major scale, it is a very simple mode to analyze.

The Cb mixolydian mode is the default scale that is used to improvise over Cb dominant 7 chords.

Let’s briefly look at how to construct Cb mixolydian using both the parallel approach and the derivative approach.

Cb Mixolydian Mode Using The Parallel Approach

Cb Major has the following notes:

Cb – Db – Eb – Fb – Gb – Ab – Bb

If we ‘lower’ the 7th note, we get the following:

Cb – Db – Eb – Fb – Gb – Ab – Bbb

Cb Mixolydian Mode Using The Derivative Approach

Cb is the 5th note of the Fb major scale:

Fb – Gb – Ab – Bbb – Cb – Db – Eb

If we play the Fb major scale and start on the 5th note we get the following:

Cb – Db – Eb – Fb – Gb – Ab – Bbb

Let’s look at the Cb mixolydian mode in the different positions on the guitar fretboard:

Cb Mixolydian in the Open Position

Firstly, let’s look at the open position:

C Flat Mixolydian Mode Open Position Frets
C Flat Mixolydian Mode Open Position Notes

Cb Mixolydian CAGED Positions

Now let’s look at Cb mixolydian in the 5 different CAGED positions along the fretboard.

Cb Mixolydian 4th Position (Lowest Fret is 4)

C Flat Mixolydian Mode 4th Position Frets
C Flat Mixolydian Mode 4th Position Notes

Cb Mixolydian 5th Position (Lowest Fret is 5)

C Flat Mixolydian Mode 5th Position Frets
C Flat Mixolydian Mode 5th Position Notes

Cb Mixolydian 8th Position (Lowest Fret is 8)

C Flat Mixolydian Mode 8th Position Frets
C Flat Mixolydian Mode 8th Position Notes

Cb Mixolydian 11th Position (Lowest Fret is 11)

C Flat Mixolydian Mode 11th Position Frets
C Flat Mixolydian Mode 11th Position Notes

Cb Mixolydian 12th Position (Lowest Fret is 12)

C Flat Mixolydian Mode 12th Position Frets

That covers the 5 basic positions and the open position of Cb mixolydian along the guitar fretboard. For an in depth explanation of the mixolydian mode, check out mixolydian mode explained.

Further Reading

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