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The Lydian Mode on Guitar

Dreamy, floating, ethereal

At a Glance

Formula: 1 2 3 ♯4 5 6 7

Degree: IV of the major scale — play a major scale starting from its 4th note and you are playing Lydian.

Character: Dreamy, floating, ethereal

Heard in: Film music, jazz, progressive rock

Examples: The Simpsons theme, Flying (Beatles), Lydian film scores

Lydian in All 12 Keys

Each page shows the full fretboard, the five CAGED shapes, the diatonic 7th chords and the pentatonic subset. The parent major scale is listed beside each key — that is the scale you are really playing, just starting somewhere else.

C LydianG major C♯ LydianG♯ major D LydianA major D♯ LydianA♯ major E LydianB major F LydianC major F♯ LydianC♯ major G LydianD major G♯ LydianD♯ major A LydianE major A♯ LydianF major B LydianF♯ major

The Other Six Modes

All seven modes share the same seven notes when they share a parent scale. What changes is which note feels like home.

IonianI DorianII PhrygianIII MixolydianV AeolianVI LocrianVII

Keep Going

How the modes workGUIDE The CAGED systemGUIDE Analyze a chord progressionTOOL Guitar Mode Finder for iPhoneAPP