B♭ lydian
B♭ major with one note raised: E. Seven notes: B♭ C D E F G A. The same notes as F major, centred on B♭.
A♯ and B♭ are the same pitch. This scale is written as B♭ lydian because that spelling needs fewer accidentals than A♯ lydian.
- Parent key
- F major Same notes
- Colour note
- E The raised 4th
- Repeating chords
- B♭ – C I – II
Across one chord in different positions. Down one place, every chord of the mode. | ||||
| IVampB♭B♭ · D · F | ||||
| IIVampCC · E · G | ||||
| iiiDmD · F · A | ||||
| ♯iv°E°E · G · B♭ | ||||
| VFF · A · C | ||||
| viGmG · B♭ · D | ||||
| viiAmA · C · E |
What makes it lydian
Major, with the 4th raised
One note separates B♭ lydian from B♭ major: E♭ becomes E. Over the same root, that turns B♭ – Cm into B♭ – C.
- B♭
- C
- D
- E♭
- F
- G
- A
- B♭
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- A
Hear the difference
One chord that says lydian
C holds E, the colour note. Play it to hear those notes together.
The brightness ladder
Seven modes on B♭
From brightest to darkest, each row lowers one note of the row above. Lydian is row 1 of seven.
↑ Brighter
- B♭ lydianB♭CDEFGA♯4
- B♭ ionian (major)B♭CDE♭FGA—
- B♭ mixolydianB♭CDE♭FGA♭♭7
- B♭ dorianB♭CD♭E♭FGA♭♭3 ♭7
- B♭ aeolian (natural minor)B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- B♭ phrygianB♭C♭D♭E♭FG♭A♭♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- B♭ locrianB♭C♭D♭E♭F♭G♭A♭♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Darker ↓
Jam along
Three drills over the vamp
Play over the repeating B♭ – C chords with a metronome. The neck highlights the notes to aim for, with E ringed.
- The vamp, with a clickB♭ – C, two bars each, in frets 2–6. Strum on the beat.80 bpmLevel 1
- Scale over the vampUp the scale and back down, one note a beat, while B♭ – C sounds. Stay in frets 2–6.80 bpmLevel 1
- Land on the colour noteOver C, aim for E. It is the note that makes it lydian.80 bpmLevel 2