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.
- 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. | ||||
| IVampBB · D♯ · F♯ | ||||
| IIVampC♯C♯ · E♯ · G♯ | ||||
| iiiD♯mD♯ · F♯ · A♯ | ||||
| ♯iv°E♯°E♯ · G♯ · B | ||||
| VF♯F♯ · A♯ · C♯ | ||||
| viG♯mG♯ · B · D♯ | ||||
| viiA♯mA♯ · C♯ · E♯ |
Light up
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 – C♯m into B – C♯.
B major
- B
- C♯
- D♯
- E
- F♯
- G♯
- A♯
B lydian
- 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 lydianBC♯D♯E♯F♯G♯A♯♯4
- B ionian (major)BC♯D♯EF♯G♯A♯—
- B mixolydianBC♯D♯EF♯G♯A♭7
- B dorianBC♯DEF♯G♯A♭3 ♭7
- B aeolian (natural minor)BC♯DEF♯GA♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- B phrygianBCDEF♯GA♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- B locrianBCDEFGA♭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 3–7. 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 3–7.80 bpmLevel 1
- Land on the colour noteOver C♯, aim for E♯. It is the note that makes it lydian.80 bpmLevel 2
Lydian on every root
Pick a root
Other modes of F♯ major's notes