F# Lydian
The F# Lydian mode (also written Gb) — F# G# A# B# C# D# E# — shown across the guitar neck.
Also written Gb Lydian. Gb and F# are the same pitch — F# is the spelling in common use.
Tap any note on the neck.
Swipe the neck sideways to see the higher frets.
F# Lydian is the major scale with one note changed — the #4, B#. That single note is what gives the mode its sound: lean on it and the colour is obvious. Leave it out and the melody alone could pass for plain major — then it is the chords underneath that keep the mode.
What is F# Lydian?
F# Lydian is the seven notes F# G# A# B# C# D# E# — the notes of Db major started from its 4th degree, F#. Same seven notes as the parent, but with F# as home, so the intervals and the sound are different.
F# Lydian vs F# major
6 of the seven notes are the same. The difference is one note, and that is the whole character of the mode:
- #4 is B# in Lydian, where F# major has 4, B.
Play F# major and F# Lydian back to back over a F# chord and listen for B# — that is the note to lean on.
Chords in F# Lydian
Stack the mode in thirds and each degree becomes a chord. The home chord is F#; the rest are the chords of Db major, since the notes are the same — what changes is which one the music rests on. Vamp between F# and G# and the mode is unmistakable.
F# Lydian on the guitar neck
Because F# Lydian is Db major from its 4th note, its natural fingering is position 4 of the seven three-notes-per-string shapes of Db major — the shape whose lowest note is F#. Learn that shape with F# as home — start and end on it, over a drone on F# or the vamp above — and you have the mode under your fingers. Play the same shape with Db as home and you hear Db major instead. The other six positions are the fingerings for the other six modes of the same key.
How to practice F# Lydian on guitar
- Loop position 4 of Db major at 60 BPM, starting and ending on F# so your ear hears F# as home rather than Db.
- Hold a F# chord (or record one) and play the shape over it. Land on B# on the strong beats — that is the sound of Lydian.
- Hear it harmonized in 3rds on the Fretboard: press Play and every note sounds with its partner while the neck lights up.
The tool draws Gb (the same pitch as F#) Lydian from its own root: the orange dots are on Gb and the degrees count from it. The notes are its parent key's, Db major; to hear Lydian, start and end on F#.
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