G Sharp Mixolydian Mode on the Guitar – 5 CAGED Positions, Tabs and Theory

‘G sharp mixolydian’ is the 5th mode of the C sharp Major scale. The notes in G Mixolydian are:

G# – A# – B# – C# – D# – E# – F#

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 G# mixolydian mode is the default scale that is used to improvise over G# dominant 7 chords.

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

G# Mixolydian Mode Using The Parallel Approach

G# Major has the following notes:

G# – A# – B# – C# – D# – E# – Fx

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

G# – A# – B# – C# – D# – E# – F#

G# Mixolydian Mode Using The Derivative Approach

G# is the 5th note of the C# major scale:

C# – D# – E# – F# – G# – A# – B#

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

G# – A# – B# – C# – D# – E# – F#

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

G# Mixolydian CAGED Positions

As the the G# mixolydian scale contains no notes that can be played on the open strings (with standard tuning) there is no ‘open position’ for G# mixolydian. Instead, let’s look at the 5 positions along the fretboard.

G# Mixolydian 1st Position (Lowest Fret is 1)

G Sharp Mixolydian Mode 1st Position Frets
G Sharp Mixolydian Mode 1st Position Notes

G# Mixolydian 2nd Position (Lowest Fret is 2)

G Sharp Mixolydian Mode 2nd Position Frets
G Sharp Mixolydian Mode 2nd Position Notes

G# Mixolydian 5th Position (Lowest Fret is 5)

G Sharp Mixolydian Mode 5th Position Frets
G Sharp Mixolydian Mode 5th Position Notes

G# Mixolydian 8th Position (Lowest Fret is 8)

G Sharp Mixolydian Mode 8th Position Frets
G Sharp Mixolydian Mode 8th Position Notes

G# Mixolydian 9th Position (Lowest Fret is 9)

G Sharp Mixolydian Mode 9th Position Frets

Further Reading

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