F Lydian over the F maj or F maj 7 Chord

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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 1^st 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

 Books: Scales Modes Guitar Bk/Cd

            Don Mock's Modal Mojo

 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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