This step shows the descending A lydian mode on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. Aside from that distinctive tritone interval between the tonic and sharpened fourth, the second most important sound created by the Lydian mode is the whole tone run that goes from C up to F#. We may link to products if we deem helpful to the reader. The tonic note (shown as *) is the starting point and is always the 1st note in the mode. Today, we’re looking at the Lydian mode (which we’ll get to in a moment) but there are hundreds more modes in existence. Many Lydian melodies use the mode consistently, but there are times when the occasionally raised fourth simply appears for effect. If that's not the key I actually see in the music, I get confused. Remember back to what I said above about using chord II, as it could accidentally become a dominant chord and cause you to modulate. In doing so, you can play around with a technique called modal borrowing. The same thing happens in minor keys, too. The lydian mode uses the W-W-W-H-W-W-H note counting rule to identify the note positions of 7 natural white notes starting from note F. The A lydian mode re-uses this mode counting pattern, but starts from note A instead. Now remember that there is a minor scale equivalent (so the equivalent of having the same approach, but with the C minor scale as your basis), and a harmonic minor scale equivalent, and melodic minor, and all of the modes, and all of their variants. As such, you can have your major and minor keys and be diatonic to them (that is, stay within them when playing), but you can’t really use the term diatonic to refer to a mode. The final thing to be aware of when using the Lydian mode in harmony is that, while it can give some great new chordal options and provide some brilliant intentional dissonance, the mode is still centred on the most dissonance interval in music. To create the A Lydian scale, for example, start with that movement of four tones: A, B, C#, D#. Much like my advice above (don’t turn the fourth into a leading note); don’t accidentally modulate away from the Lydian mode. a treble or bass clef), there is no possibility of having 2 G-type notes, for example, with one of the notes needing an accidental next to it on the staff (a sharp, flat or natural symbol). In a later step, if sharp or flat notes are used, the exact accidental names will be chosen. If you’re using the Lydian mode, however, you’re free to turn what would be a B diminished chord into a standard B minor. The lydian mode uses the W-W-W-H-W-W-H note counting rule to identify the note positions of 7 natural white notes starting from note F. The A lydian mode re-uses this mode counting pattern, but starts from note A instead. My issue with The Simpsons; theme key signature is that every F played is an accidental (F#). You’ve probably become rather used to standard major and minor scales, but were you aware of the basically endless possibilities modes afford you? For this mode, all notes have a match, and so the Match? This semitone jump to the tonic often makes a phrase of section sound ‘final’. This step shows the white and black note names on a piano keyboard so that the note names are familiar for later steps, and to show that the note names start repeating themselves after 12 notes. In contrast, all other modes, including for example the phrygian mode, have a whole tone (two semitones, two notes on the piano keyboard) between the 7th and 8th notes, and the 7th note does not lean towards the 8th note in the same way. You might be used to improvising in a specific way (using a pentatonic scale and chucking in a few blues notes every now and again- sound familiar? You can move from chord I to chord II, for example, without losing the major sound. Obviously, the Lydian mode still has a leading tone (in C, this is the B-C movement) which helps to confirm your key. The numbered notes are those that might be used when building this mode. Move up to D, and if you simply go from D-D without hitting a black note, you’ll be playing the Dorian mode. This step shows the ascending A lydian mode on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. Non computer generated. The second way, which is quicker but a little more complex, is the preferred method which will benefit your theoretical understanding of the mode as well as your use of it. Scales you can use in the real world, created by a human guitarist. The easiest (but longest) way to do this is to simply look at the notes, and move every single one of them up by the amount necessary to reach the new tonic. Then list the 7 notes in the mode so far, shown in the next column. Apply this same logic to any note you may need to use, and you have a basic understanding of how to form the Lydian mode anywhere you want, and can start to use it in melodies. You’ll find that there are quite a lot of songs you’ll be familiar with that include that subtle nod towards the Lydian mode, as the minor version of chord II often sounds rather weak without its major 3rd. It basically goes on forever, but you don’t need to worry about that. The 8th note - the octave note, will have the same name as the first note, the tonic note. column. Since this mode begins with note A, it is certain that notes 1 and 13 will be used in this mode. This could be especially powerful if you’re playing over a chord sequence that has borrowed modal chords in it. The most important notes in the F Lydian scale are: While looking at the Lydian mode in its most simple formulation gives us the simplicity of the F, G, A, B, C, D, E scale mentioned above, it isn’t as though the Lydian mode can’t be moved to every single other note.