mixolydian

A major mode with a flat seventh: the bluesy, rock dominant that will not fully resolve.

Major with a flat seventh, so it loses the leading tone that makes major resolve so firmly. The result is a major that stays loose and unresolved: the dominant, bluesy, rock-and-roll sound of countless riffs and vamps. Its characteristic note is the flat 7th.

Learn it: Modes

The one-sentence definition at the top is the same one the Theory Aide extension shows as a tooltip inside Ableton Live. Hover any dotted term for its own.