Breaking Down the Barriers: The Lydian Mode

The Lydian mode is one of the most expressive modes of the major scale, and through this article, I hope to explain its exotic, yet familiar sound, and how we can use it in our modern compositions. We’ll talk about F Lydian, which is based on the C major scale.

Therefore, if you write out the notes in an C major scale:

C D E F G A B C

And start on F…

F G A B C D E F

…you get the F Lydian mode. The cool thing is that this mode is almost like a regular ol’ F major scale. Lets compare Bb Lydian to Bb major:

F major: F G A Bb C D E F

F Lydian: F G A B C D E F

Notice a difference? The F Lydian scale’s 4^th note is raised ½ step higher. We can say:

F major: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

F Lydian: 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7

Let’s figure this out on the fretboard, in a 3-note-per-string configuration:

And let’s listen to how both sound:

They do sound different, and that difference will help us choose which scale to use in a particular application. First, understand that if the chords you are soloing over come from the C major scale, you must use F Lydian:

If the chords come from F major, (using a Bb instead of a Bdim) you would use F major.

Not as confusing as it sounds, and it is about to get easier. If the chords you are soloing over do not include a 3^rd (such as power chords), or do not move from a Bb chord …you can use either! The #4 sound of the Lydian mode has a really sweet, alien, unfinished quality to it. I would suggest listening to Joe Satriani’s 2^nd album, Surfing With the Alien, to hear this mode, especially on Lords Of Karma.

Now, let’s get more exotic. I tend to get bored over a chord progression consisting of only power chords or triads, so I tend to shake things up by adding in some extended harmony. The Lydian mode is great if your chord progression contains the unique sound of a #11 chord. I play the chord like this:

Wow, that’s a mouthful. Breaking it down:

This contains a F major chord (F, A, C), the major 7 (E), and the #11 (B) which is the #4 note, 1 octave higher. All are notes from the C major scale.

Not something you hear in most rock, huh? But if we work so hard on our solos, we had better get used to ‘different’ harmonies that surround our solos, right?

For example, here is a chord progression:

I’ll now play a solo over it. Hear that different-but-familiar sound? One note (that #4) makes quite a difference, huh?

We will try one more progression, using a drone-type bass note over shifting chords:

Yes, I overdubbed two guitar parts to get those bass notes – I can’t reach that far.

Here is the rhythm backing track:

And here is my solo using the F Lydian mode:

The Lydian mode is closely tied to the major scale, and can sometimes be used wherever a major scale can be used. The main thing is, do you like the way it sounds? Do any of the notes clash with the harmony behind the solo? Sometimes it helps to record something, and listen to it honestly while you are not playing at the same time.

All recordings done with an Alnico II Pro set. The Alnico II Pro comes in neck and bridge versions. They’re available with many options, too: just ask!

You can use some of the rhythm tracks above to try your own solos over. Upload and share with the community in the comments below. Do you have any favorite songs that use the Lydian mode?

About Dave Eichenberger

Iconoclast guitarist Dave Eichenberger composes ambient music using guitar technology and looping, yet still has time to record and perform with international singer-songwriter Julie Black.

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http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1151971518 Filipe Marques Freitas

Tell me something: – What characterizes that you are playing in a certain mode when you aren’t playing any notes outside a given tonality?

Aaron Armstrong

It is the harmony behind it. If your tonic chord is C major and you play this mode (c major starting on F), you’re in C, but if the harmony changes and the tonic becomes F major, and instead of playing F major you play C major starting on F it becomes modal.
http://www.facebook.com/daveeichenberger Dave Eichenberger

Yes, the harmony- it is the part most mode books and articles forget. If you just play the notes of the major scale in a different order, you are not understanding the modes. Put them over the right chords, and then you start to hear it. Those same boring notes become something else entirely!
BigBoa

Do you have any background in harmonizing scales?

For example, building scales on each note of the major scale is how we derive the “bssic chords”. By adding the 7th, those chords expand from majors and minors and diminished to major 7th, minor 7th, dominant 7th and dim7 or minor7b5.

You can do the same thing with other scales, for example the harmonic major or minor. While all or most scales, at least in “western music” are in one way or another derived from the major scale, when you start flatting and sharping notes, you get all sorts of “exotic” sounds.

Look for more info on harmonizing scales. “Guitar Grimoire/Scales and modes” is pretty good. While it is a bit shallow on the theory, it does cover pretty much any scale you would want. If you’ve progressed to composing your own scales, you would be beyond pretty much anything you’ll find in a book anyway….

By the way,,, meant to say nice job, Dave E

http://www.facebook.com/garyodrechsel Gary Drechsel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SINl5JY7LhI – one of my favorite examples of the lydian mode. There are videos on youtube of Joe explaining the modes that I found very helpful. I think if you search for “satriani modes” you can find them. He uses the idea of hitting the low string and then playing the E modes while it rings out. It helps you get an idea of each of their flavors.