Today’s goal is to get hyped about the lydian. It is a challenge since the lydian is probably my least favorite mode since it is so vanilla. Because of that I want to focus on it so that my weakness becomes a strength. The way to do that (for me) is study. Once I get into anything, I find it interesting.
First, there are three practical sites for the A lydian: at the A on the second fret of the G string, on the fourteenth fret of the G, and the ninth fret of the C string. I could conceivably play it on the E or A strings, but that would require clumsily going up those strings.
Since those are the sites of the A lydian it makes sense to plan which scales to use in conjunction with it. I wonder if real musicians would consider it cheating to plan out my improvisation. Of course, when I use the shapes, I will spontaneously choose which notes to play, but the general outline won’t be so off the cuff.
Anyway, the logical choice to complement the A lydian is the E major pentatonic because it is comprised of the 1,2,3,5, &6 degrees of E major—all of which are contained in the A lydian. I could, in theory, jump off the lydian at any point and start on the major pentatonic.
The minor pentatonic, on the other hand, is made from 1, b3, 4, 5, b7 degrees. Obviously the 1, 4, and 5 are common to the lydian, but the flat 3 and 7 are a bit grating since they are off by a half-step. I will have to experiment because, sometimes, that dissonance works. However the major pentatonic is more of a slam dunk.
Excuse the excursus but a thought has just come to me. The A lydian has a weird quality (to my ear). Since the A lydian starts and ends on the A, I assume that the A is for all intents and purposes the de facto root of the mode. However, there never seems to be a sense of resolution or closure when I return to the A. I am not much of a musical theorist, so maybe this is self-evident to anyone with any knowledge. Maybe the root is still E, the key of the A lydian. Maybe I should try ending a run on the E and see if that sounds good. If memory serves me, I seem to remember that ending on the B sounds better than the A. Maybe that’s because the B is the dominant of the E and while it offers no resolution, it at least promise of an E to come. That’s how it is used in traditional blues turnarounds. Maybe it is just a matter of training the ear. I am by natural inclination drawn more to the “minor” modes and the more “major” ones sound off-putting to me.
Anyway...let’s get back to major pentatonics and which ones will imbriate with the A lydian. I will be focusing on the A lydian starting on the second fret of the G string because nowadays I am focusing on the linear tuning.
The A lydian ends on the E string with the notes F# G# and A. Let’s think about what that means for the major pentatonic with the nut of the fret board being so close below and cutting off certain options.
The F# and G# are the ones to watch here. They are, respectively, the second and third degrees of the major pentatonic. They are on the second and fourth frets. Where does that lead? The linear subdominant shape fits the bill since it also has a F# and G# on the E string. My tendency would be to descend in pitch to the lower notes of the G string. The G string possesses the G# and the B.
[Oh! That xplains my rant above. The reason why the A sounds less than satisfying as the terminus for a run is that it is outside of my scale since I am descending in the major pentatonic that does not have an A. However, if I stop the pentatonic on the E of the C string, that is in the major pentatonic. It is also in the A lydian so that if, at the E, I change back to the A lydian, then I could descend back down the A lydian: E D# C# B A.]
So the subdominant shape works. I think the dominant shape works as well. It works because of the G#. With the subdominant shape the G# was the high note and I had to work back toward the nut, whereas in the dominant shape the G# is the low note and I have to work upward. The same methodology applies to this linear dominant shape. In the dominant shape, the B and he C# pop up on the G string. From the B we could slide down to the A but as we noted above, the A would be outside of the shape since our ears anticipate an A and not a G#. The turning point, once again, is the E. The E is the low note of the C string in the dominant shape. But it is also the high note of the A lydian on the C string. So here’s the basic run-down. In the dominant shape you descend E (at an octave higher) C# B G# F# E, but at the E you switch to the A lydian shape where the E is the high note of the C string and then finish: E D# C# B A.
That’s it for the linear major pentatonic shapes. Obviously I could slide up to the leading tone shape or even the tonic shape, improvise, and then slide back down to the A lydian, but I’m trying to keep this simple...despite how long this post is stretching.
Okay, now let’s think about the minor pentatonic. The A lydian’s notes on the E string are F# G# A. The A is the only connection between the lydian and the pentatonic. The A is the third degree of the minor pentatonic. Coincidentally or not, the subdominant and dominant shapes are the linear shapes that have that A on the E string.
Things are spinning out of control here. I know that the A Lydian has an A on the E string, as does the linear minor pentatonic shapes, but that’s where I am going to leave it. There are so many variables involved here that I cannot think about it. I am going to just bow out and say I will experiment and see what works and what doesn’t.
Maybe it is the beer. I am at the local pub where on Fridays I visit to see the local tradesmen and other regulars. I’ve had four beers. I usually only have three but I’m crazy like that.
I was going to look at re-entrant forms of the pentatonic, but the re-entrant forms are the same as the linear ones, except they don’t extend to the G string. So there’s nothing new to talk about with them.
Another angle of the lydian to think about is the chord harmonization of this mode. If you work this all out, here’s the schema:
I II biii IV° V vi vii
The essential chords are the I II V
Just to be clear the actual chords would be:
E F# G minor A diminished B C# minor D# minor
The E F# B progression isn’t much to write home about. It very much like a standard I IV V progression ezcept that the F# creates a bit of a different sound, being closer to the B than the A. The F# poses an interesting question as to how to form it. I can either form it by making the G chord and then moving it down to the first fret. That’s easy enough but then the B chord would be a totally different shape. Conversely I could form the F# by using the F-shaped barre chord, something I never do. That would be hard, but then the B chord is just one finger’s difference.
Aside from that I have only experimented with the progression briefly. I find that I don’t have much use for the G minor or D# minor. That’s nothing new really. The third and seventh intervals are rarely used by most people. I even tried different chord qualities, e.g. the G m7, but it still seemed unessential. So far, here’s the groove I like to get in to:
E C#m F# B A° E
What isn’t so evident in this progression is the stacking of fingers. I picked this progression because of the fingerings more than the sound...although it sounds good, too:
1. The E is just the E, the good old tonic
2. The C#m is very common; the I to vi interval is ubiquitous in pop music. However, I picked it because it barres the first fret (I use the 1444 shape)
3. Since the first fret is already barred, all I have to do is form the F major chord with my middle and ring fingers to get the F#
4. B. If I move the F# up a fret and move the middle finger to the C string, I have an B major chord.
5. The diminished A is a cloying call for resolution. But I also use it because my ring finger is on the A string for this chord. Then all I have to do to return to the E is slide that finger down a fret.