rkdjones - Posted - 02/21/2026:  10:37:49

I'm arranging Salt Creek for clawhammer banjo. Mandolessons posted the standard notation for his arrangement for the mandolin. Has C# and F# in the key signature but ends on a A. Google AI says that it is in A Mixolydian (A B C# D E F# G A). These are the same notes as the Dmaj scale, and the key signature on the staff looks like Dmaj. That seems right, but my first question is it true (sometimes AI makes s*** up)?

I want to transpose it to make it easier to play in open G tuning (gDGBD) or maybe guitar tuning (gDGBE). Do I just change notes to G A B C D E F G? And do the chords change like this:
A -> G
D -> C
G -> F
E -> D

Old Hickory - Posted - 02/21/2026:  11:09:25

Yes. The chords change the way you have listed. Everything transposes down a whole step.

As to what you didn't ask . . .

Salt Creek uses the "flat VII" chord that is not part of the major key suggested by its root chord. In the key of G, that's an F major chord instead of F#dim. So I guess that's what make it Mixolydian. 

Now, when we move Salt Creek to G (modal?) do we dispense with the F# note entirely and substitute F everywhere? Not in my  experience. There's a V chord in the tune -- D major --which contains an F# note. We still play that.

Salt Creek is a tune that people like to argue about. I lack the theory knowledge to say what it is in a learned sounding way. I *think* it's essentially in a major key, with brief passages outside the key -- when it goes to the flat VII chord. The rest of the tune doesn't sound particularly modal to me.

Texasbanjo - Posted - 02/21/2026:  11:09:56

Looks okay to me. The chords will be G, C, D, Fdim (probably) or possibly F#.

NOTE:  I was incorrect in saying the chord would be Fdim or F#.  It would definitely be F7.  My apologies for getting it wrong and my thanks to 250Gibson for correcting my error.

Edited by - Texasbanjo on 02/21/2026 14:05:36

250gibson - Posted - 02/21/2026:  11:42:28

quote:

---

Originally posted by Texasbanjo

Looks okay to me. The chords will be G, C, D, Fdim (probably) or possibly F#.

---

Not F# or Fdim. It would be F7 in G mixolydian. 

Edited by - 250gibson on 02/21/2026 11:42:44

rkdjones - Posted - 02/21/2026:  12:23:45

I'm trying to reconcile these two responses:

After transposing to G Mixolydian, I can't really tell if a Dm sounds better than a D chord. (Truth is that I often don't play the F# when playing a D chord anyway)

How to play the VII chord: is it an F# chord or an F chord. F sound better than F# to my ear.

BTW if I pull up the tune on StrumMachine it has me playing an F chord, not an F#. And a D chord, not a Dm.

Thanks for the comments. I'm not proficient with all the subtleties of modal music so this helps a lot.

Texasbanjo - Posted - 02/21/2026:  14:00:59

quote:

---

Originally posted by 250gibson

quote:

---

Originally posted by Texasbanjo

Looks okay to me. The chords will be G, C, D, Fdim (probably) or possibly F#.

---

Not F# or Fdim. It would be F7 in G mixolydian. 

---

You're correct and I was wrong.  Thanks for catching my error. 

250gibson - Posted - 02/21/2026:  14:36:31

quote:

---

Originally posted by rkdjones

I'm trying to reconcile these two responses:



After transposing to G Mixolydian, I can't really tell if a Dm sounds better than a D chord. (Truth is that I often don't play the F# when playing a D chord anyway)



How to play the VII chord: is it an F# chord or an F chord. F sound better than F# to my ear.



BTW if I pull up the tune on StrumMachine it has me playing an F chord, not an F#. And a D chord, not a Dm.



Thanks for the comments. I'm not proficient with all the subtleties of modal music so this helps a lot.

---

It is F7 and D7. 

Old Hickory - Posted - 02/22/2026:  10:05:50

quote:

---

Originally posted by rkdjones

After transposing to G Mixolydian, I can't really tell if a Dm sounds better than a D chord. (Truth is that I often don't play the F# when playing a D chord anyway)

---

You've discovered something important: Sometimes it sounds better on banjo to leave out the major third. This is one instance. A "D" chord consisting of just D and A and maybe the open 5th string G for color can sometimes sound better than a full D major chord.

I tend to play a D chord with no F# in rolling backup.

But in some situations I play a D major chord with F# on 4th string, A at 2nd fret 3rd string, and 1st string open for D. In this case, I find the low F# doesn't clash with the open 5th string G. I'm playing three-finger and rolling through these notes. I think you're playing clawhammer, so how you sound them will be different. Trust your ear.

Lew H - Posted - 02/22/2026:  12:43:08

Aren't you really just removing your capo to play in open G rather than the key of A capoed up two frets?

rkdjones - Posted - 02/23/2026:  10:01:18

That is indeed at the heart of the question. Can every note just be moved down 2 semitones, including the notes in the chords? It certainly makes sense.

Old Hickory - Posted - 02/23/2026:  12:27:41

Yes. That's how transposition works. Every note moves the same number of half steps in the same direction. That includes every note in every chord. The requirements of the new key -- that each of the seven letter names be used exactly once -- determine whether the in-between notes (black keys on a piano) are called sharps or flats.

So you can ignore, not concern yourself, with whether the song is literally in a mode or if just the phrases on the flat-VII chord venture outside the key and simply move all the notes and chords the same amount and play the song.

This is what session and jamming musicians do all the time. It's why most ear players know the number system, also called the Nashville Number System.