C lydian
C major with one note raised: F♯. Seven notes: C D E F♯ G A B. The same notes as G major, centred on C.
- Parent key
- G major Same notes
- Colour note
- F♯ The raised 4th
- Repeating chords
- C – D I – II
Across one chord in different positions. Down one place, every chord of the mode. | ||||
| IVampCC · E · G | ||||
| IIVampDD · F♯ · A | ||||
| iiiEmE · G · B | ||||
| ♯iv°F♯°F♯ · A · C | ||||
| VGG · B · D | ||||
| viAmA · C · E | ||||
| viiBmB · D · F♯ |
Light up
What makes it lydian
Major, with the 4th raised
One note separates C lydian from C major: F becomes F♯. Over the same root, that turns C – Dm into C – D.
C major
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- A
- B
C lydian
- C
- D
- E
- F♯
- G
- A
- B
Hear the difference
One chord that says lydian
D holds F♯, the colour note. Play it to hear those notes together.
The brightness ladder
Seven modes on C
From brightest to darkest, each row lowers one note of the row above. Lydian is row 1 of seven.
↑ Brighter
- C lydianCDEF♯GAB♯4
- C ionian (major)CDEFGAB—
- C mixolydianCDEFGAB♭♭7
- C dorianCDE♭FGAB♭♭3 ♭7
- C aeolian (natural minor)CDE♭FGA♭B♭♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- C phrygianCD♭E♭FGA♭B♭♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- C locrianCD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Darker ↓
Jam along
Three drills over the vamp
Play over the repeating C – D chords with a metronome. The neck highlights the notes to aim for, with F♯ ringed.
- The vamp, with a clickC – D, two bars each, in frets 2–5. Strum on the beat.80 bpmLevel 1
- Scale over the vampUp the scale and back down, one note a beat, while C – D sounds. Stay in frets 2–5.80 bpmLevel 1
- Land on the colour noteOver D, aim for F♯. It is the note that makes it lydian.80 bpmLevel 2