Where to capo for E Mixolydian
Put the capo at fret 2 and play E Mixolydian using D Mixolydian shapes. That is the easiest of the eight positions ranked below, and it is what most players reach for. Against playing E Mixolydian open, it drops the mean difficulty of the key's seven chords from 4.3 to 3.4 and gains 5 ringing open strings.
You want E. Capo 2 and play in D.
All eight positions, ranked
Each row transposes E Mixolydian down by that many frets to find the shapes your hand would actually make, then scores the best voicing of all seven chords — fewer fingers, less stretch, closer to the nut, fewer muted strings. Lower is easier. Standard tuning (E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4).
| Capo | Shapes you play | Open strings | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | D Mixolydian | 19 | 3.4 |
| 7 | A Mixolydian | 19 | 3.9 |
| None | E Mixolydian | 14 | 4.3 |
| 5 | B Mixolydian | 10 | 4.4 |
| 4 | C Mixolydian | 15 | 4.7 |
| 3 | C# Mixolydian | 3 | 5.6 |
| 6 | A# Mixolydian | 4 | 5.6 |
| 1 | D# Mixolydian | 2 | 6.2 |
What you are playing
The seven chords of E Mixolydian are E, F#m, G#dim, A, Bm, C#m, D — the ones the ranking above is scored against. Their diagrams are on the E Mixolydian key page.