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Tomus

Mode reference

Lydian mode

The major scale with a raised fourth · C Lydian = C – D – E – F♯ – G – A – B

Lydian is the fourth mode of the major scale, which means C Lydian uses the notes of G major but treats C as home. The table below keeps that relationship on every root: the same step pattern, started somewhere new.

Brighter than major. The raised fourth removes the pull of the subdominant, so it floats rather than settles — a staple of film scoring.

C Lydian

  1. C1
    tone
  2. D2
    tone
  3. E3
    tone
  4. F♯4
    semi
  5. G5
    tone
  6. A6
    tone
  7. B7
    semi
  8. C8
C Lydian, with the step between each pair of degrees. T is a tone, S a semitone.
CDEF♯GABC
C Lydian ascending, with each accidental written on its note.
CDEFGABCF♯
C Lydian on the keyboard, from C up to C. The tonic is the darker key.

Every degree

DegreeNoteInterval from the tonicSemitones
1CUnison0
2DMajor second2
3EMajor third4
4F♯Augmented fourth6
5GPerfect fifth7
6AMajor sixth9
7BMajor seventh11

Hear what makes it Lydian

The explorer marks the raised fourth — the note that separates Lydian from major on the same tonic. Flip between the two and play each; that one note is the whole difference.

Lydian on every root

Each row is the same step pattern started somewhere new. The last column is the major scale that contains the same notes — useful when you want to find the mode by thinking in a key you already know.

TonicNotesSame notes as
CC – D – E – F♯ – G – A – BG major
D♭D♭ – E♭ – F – G – A♭ – B♭ – CA♭ major
DD – E – F♯ – G♯ – A – B – C♯A major
E♭E♭ – F – G – A – B♭ – C – DB♭ major
EE – F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – B – C♯ – D♯B major
FF – G – A – B – C – D – EC major
F♯F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – B♯ – C♯ – D♯ – E♯C♯ major
GG – A – B – C♯ – D – E – F♯D major
A♭A♭ – B♭ – C – D – E♭ – F – GE♭ major
AA – B – C♯ – D♯ – E – F♯ – G♯E major
B♭B♭ – C – D – E – F – G – AF major
BB – C♯ – D♯ – E♯ – F♯ – G♯ – A♯F♯ major

Hearing it rather than spelling it

A mode is only a mode while the music keeps treating its tonic as home. Played over a G bass, C Lydian is just G major. Played over a C drone, the raised fourth — what sets it apart from C major — becomes unmistakable. That is why modal writing tends to stay on one chord for a long time.

Keep going

Nearby modes

All seven modes

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