Guitar scales › Lydian Mode

D Lydian Mode – Guitar

A major scale with a raised 4th: dreamy and floating, the film-score and Satriani sound. Here it is in D: the notes, the whole neck, all five boxes with TAB, and a backing track to practise over.

Notes in the D lydian mode

Formula: 1 – 2 – 3 – #4 – 5 – 6 – 7. Use it to solo over songs in D major.

D lydian mode on the whole neck

EADGBe123456789101112131415EF#G#ABC#EF#ABC#EF#G#ABEF#G#ABC#EG#ABC#EF#G#ABC#EF#G#ABC#EF#G#ABC#EF#
D Lydian Mode on the whole neck, frets 0-15. Gold = the root (D).
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The 5 boxes (positions) with TAB

Each box is one hand position. Learn Box 1 first: play it up with the TAB, then back down, then move to the next box – together they cover the whole neck.

Box 1 · frets 8–13

EADGBe8910111213C#EF#G#ABC#EF#G#G#ABC#E
D Lydian Mode, box 1
e|----------------------------------------------9--10-12-|
B|-------------------------------------9--10-12----------|
G|----------------------------9--11-13-------------------|
D|-------------------9--11-12----------------------------|
A|----------9--11-12-------------------------------------|
E|-9--10-12----------------------------------------------|

Box 2 · frets 10–16

EADGBe10111213141516EF#G#G#ABC#C#EF#F#G#ABABC#EF#G#
D Lydian Mode, box 2
e|-------------------------------------------------------------10-12-14-16-|
B|-------------------------------------------------10-12-14-15-------------|
G|-------------------------------------11-13-14-16-------------------------|
D|-------------------------11-12-14-16-------------------------------------|
A|-------------11-12-14-16-------------------------------------------------|
E|-10-12-14-16-------------------------------------------------------------|

Box 3 · frets 1–6

EADGBe123456EF#G#AABC#EF#G#G#ABC#BC#EEF#G#A
D Lydian Mode, box 3
e|---------------------------------2-4-5-|
B|---------------------------2-3-5-------|
G|-------------------1-2-4-6-------------|
D|-------------2-4-6---------------------|
A|-------2-4-5---------------------------|
E|-2-4-5---------------------------------|

Box 4 · frets 3–8

EADGBe345678G#ABC#EF#G#ABC#EF#G#AB
D Lydian Mode, box 4
e|-------------------------------4-5-7-|
B|-------------------------3-5-7-------|
G|-------------------4-6-7-------------|
D|-------------4-6-7-------------------|
A|-------4-5-7-------------------------|
E|-4-5-7-------------------------------|

Box 5 · frets 6–11

EADGBe67891011BC#EF#G#G#ABC#C#EF#F#G#ABC#
D Lydian Mode, box 5
e|----------------------------------------------------7--9--10-|
B|-------------------------------------------7--9--10----------|
G|-------------------------------6--7--9--11-------------------|
D|-------------------6--7--9--11-------------------------------|
A|----------7--9--11-------------------------------------------|
E|-7--9--10----------------------------------------------------|

D major backing track

Play the boxes over this, starting and ending phrases on the gold root notes.

Slow blues backing track in D major – Beardly Jam Tracks

Songs in D major

These songs are in D major, so this is a scale that fits for soloing over them:

All songs in D major →

Other scales in D

Lydian Mode in other keys

Put it to use: solo with it, step by step, starting with three notes.

FAQ

What notes are in the D lydian mode?

D, E, F#, G#, A, B, C#. The formula is 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7.

Where do I start playing the D lydian mode on guitar?

Start with Box 1, frets 8–13. The root note D is on the low E string at fret 10.