rkdjones - Posted - 04/24/2026:  23:29:53

I just started learning Angeline the Baker. Tabs and score indicate D major (2 sharps) and the arrangement indeed has C# and F#. But the first and last notes are A. Does this mean that the piece is in Mixolydian mode?

earlstanleycrowe - Posted - 04/25/2026:  02:33:17

I don't think so. If it were mixolydian it would have C natural notes, I think.

johnedallas - Posted - 04/25/2026:  02:56:49

If the tune is centred on the 5th step of the major scale, it's mixolydian.
Two sharps (F# and C#) indicate the scale of D major, so the related mixolydian mode would be A - which is your tonal centre!
You can also recognise mixolydian tunes by the fact that the note below the tonic note is a whole tone lower (in the major scale, it's a semitone lower). Apart from that, mixolydian sounds much like the major scale.
Cheers,
John

janolov - Posted - 04/25/2026:  08:46:37

I think of Angeline The Baker as a D tune, ending with an A note, rather than a Mixolydian tune. The chords used are D, G and A which is typical for D major, and it ends with a D chord even if the melody note is A. 

I once to play it (with a guitarist) as an A Mixolydian tune, ending with a A chord, and it sounded really odd!

There are other Old-Time tunes that ends with a V note, for example Handsome Molly.

Don't overthink this about modes and music theory. Just play instead of discussing. Old-Time music is full of examples that are difficult to get into conventional music theory. 

rkdjones - Posted - 04/25/2026:  09:49:15

Thank you for these insights.

I am aware that even folk music doesn't follow strict rules. I would like to understand what defines a tune in a different mode. Some modes seem really easy to hear. Perhaps I will make a study of it.

One reason to name the mode is that I play it in session, and communicating to other sessions players what I am playing is important. In this case, the song is common and most players already know it.

Not knowing what mode it is in wasn't keeping me from playing it. Overthinking implies to me that I am letting my curiosity get in the way of playing the song.

banjoak - Posted - 04/25/2026:  12:51:52

quote:

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Originally posted by rkdjones

I just started learning Angeline the Baker. Tabs and score indicate D major (2 sharps) and the arrangement indeed has C# and F#. But the first and last notes are A. Does this mean that the piece is in Mixolydian mode?

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It's in D major.

The first and last notes of melody do not have to be the tonic of the key, it's not a rule. (even though that is probably the most common)

John Yerxa - Posted - 04/25/2026:  21:36:30

rkdjones

Robert - if you haven't seen it, there's a great sticky in the Playing Advice - Clawhammer forum about modes.

banjohangout.org/topic/389423/1

Also, if you don't know about the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, look into it:

centrum.org/program/fiddle-tunes/

Careful, can be life - changing.

banjoboyd - Posted - 04/26/2026:  20:29:34

FWIW... The original "Angelina Baker" by Foster is in C major; the melody in the verse starts on C, and the melody in the refrain starts on G below that (but still over a C major chord). The OT tune effectively reverses it, making the verse the B section and the refrain the A section. That partly explains the tendency to feel that low A (now thinking in D tuning) at the beginning of the tune as the tonic (putting it in A mixolydian), when the melody is actually starting on the 5th degree. As Jan says, it sounds odd to play an A major chord there even though it seems like it should work.