Modal Runs

Eb Lydian (D# Lydian) on Guitar

Lydian is the major scale with the 4th raised a semitone — major, but floating instead of grounded. The notes of Eb Lydian are Eb, F, G, A, Bb, C, D. Its characteristic note is A — the sharp 4th — the one note that gives this major-type scale its colour.

It is the dreamy, weightless sound of film scores, "The Simpsons" theme, and Joe Satriani ballads ("Flying in a Blue Dream" is a Lydian tutorial with a record deal). The sharp 4th refuses to resolve downward the way a normal 4th does, so the whole scale hovers.

Eb Lydian across the whole neck

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 E A D G B E F G A Bb C D Eb A Bb C D Eb F G A D Eb F G A Bb C D G A Bb C D Eb F G C D Eb F G A Bb F G A Bb C D Eb
Standard tuning, frets 0–12. The gold notes are the root (Eb); every colour marks an interval, the same palette the app uses.
Practice Eb Lydian over a drone →Free, in your browser. It listens through your mic and lights up what you play.

Over the drone, hold the sharp 4th and let it ring — in any other major context it would be a wrong note; here it is the point.

Formula and intervals

R - 2 - 3 - b5 - 5 - 6 - 7 — 7 notes. The natural 3rd makes it a major-family scale.

Chords in Eb Lydian

These are the diatonic chords — the harmony built from only the notes above. Vamping between any of them keeps you inside the mode.

DegreeChordQuality
IEbMajor
IIFMajor
iiiGmMinor
iv°AdimDiminished
VBbMajor
viCmMinor
viiDmMinor

Same notes, different home

Eb Lydian contains exactly the same notes as Bb Major. Nothing about the notes changes — what changes is which one feels like home, and that changes everything about the sound.

Other modes on Eb

Keep the same root and swap the scale — the fastest way to hear what each mode actually does.

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