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Here is my featured lick: F Lydian over the F maj or F maj 7 Chord
Starting this month I’m going to feature a monthly modal lick. Our first star comes from the C major scale. Instead of starting in order I’m going to mix it up a bit, beginning with my favorite mode the F Lydian scale which is the 4th degree of the
C major (Ionian) scale. I will write a future lesson on the all the
modes generated by the major scale, for now I want to concentrate on F
Lydian.F Lydian gets
its name from the #4 or #11 interval that exists in this scale. The tritone occurs
between the F and the B : F G A B C D E.
1 2 3#4 5 6 7
Play those 2
notes together and you get the tritone, #11,or b5 sound. As you can see it goes by
many names the most famous name for this interval is the Devils chord or the
Devils notes. The Church in the medieval era decided to ban the use of these 2
notes because they believed it evoked evil spirits. I guess that's why Black Sabbath and rock metal bands decided to use this evil sound in their
compositions because they wanted to summon the devil. Joking and
kidding aside, this scale is very useful in many styles of music other than
rock or metal. In jazz or fusion it’s a great substitute for the major scale.
A musician like Bill Evans might use it as a substitute over the 1
chord in a song because he prefers the sound of the #11. Normally it
would be used as a soloing devise over the 4 chord, but rules can be
broken. There is nothing wrong with borrowing that sound for the I chord. In fact, some musicians would call the #11 sound the real sound of
a major or major 7 chord. The example below illustrates the
substitution over a set of changes in the key of F that an advanced
musician might use in their improvised solo.
Example: I maj 7
I maj 7 ii -7 v7
F maj 7 / F mah7
/ Gmi 7 / C7
Use F Lydian for the 1st 2
measures. Use C mixolydian or G melodic minor for the 2 5 in
F major
Normally a beginner would use F major or F Ionian. This example, employs
the 4 chord sound or Lydian sound over the 1 chord and it sounds good or
even better. Use these techniques sparingly and to create variety with
the sound of your solos. I’m not telling you to give up on the F major scale, just
mix it up a bit to give your playing a more exotic sound. Don’t be afraid to try new things at first it may sound wrong, but eventually your ears will get use to a new hip sound.
It also sounds great over a vamp. In the video below I demonstrate an F lydian lick that is played behind an F maj 7 Chord that is being looped over and repeated.
Books that will aid you in your study of modes:
Here are some book recommendations from my amazon associate links
Use the F Lydian scale in the tablature below to create your own
F Lydian licks over F maj or F maj 7
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LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to
provide a way for websites to earn advertising revenues by advertising
and linking to Amazon.ca.
