Lydian Minor scale on guitar

Lydian minor has a major third and a raised fourth over a minor sixth and seventh, a bright start with a dark top.

Play A Lydian Minor on the fretboard in Guitar Upscale

About the Lydian Minor scale

Lydian minor takes a major triad, adds the raised 4th of the Lydian mode, then flattens the 6th and the 7th. The lower half sounds bright, the upper half sounds like minor.

Over a dominant 7th chord it gives the #11 and the b13 tensions at once, a sound jazz players reach for on altered dominants.

Play it slowly over a held root note first. The raised 4th and the flat 6th are the two notes that set it apart from Mixolydian.

Intervals from the root

Chords in A Lydian Minor

Stack every other note of the scale and you get one chord on each note. These chords sound at home with the scale, so they make good progressions.

Same notes, another starting note

Start the A Lydian Minor scale on another of its notes and you get these scales:

• From degree 2 (B): B Arabian (Major Locrian)
• From degree 5 (E): E Neapolitan Major
• From degree b6 (F): F Leading Whole Tone

Lydian Minor in every key

More Minor scales

• Natural Minor (Aeolian)
• Harmonic Minor
• Phrygian Mode
• Locrian Mode
• Locrian with a Natural Fifth
• Harmonic Minor Bebop
• Harmonic Minor Bebop with a Raised Fourth
• Melodic Minor
• Dorian Mode
• Minor Pentatonic