Modal Runs

Gb Lydian (F# Lydian) on Guitar

Lydian is the major scale with the 4th raised a semitone — major, but floating instead of grounded. The notes of Gb Lydian are Gb, Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F. Its characteristic note is C — 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.

Gb Lydian across the whole neck

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 E A D G B E F Gb Ab Bb C Db Eb Bb C Db Eb F Gb Ab Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db Ab Bb C Db Eb F Gb C Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb F Gb Ab Bb C Db Eb
Standard tuning, frets 0–12. The gold notes are the root (Gb); every colour marks an interval, the same palette the app uses.
Practice Gb 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 Gb 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
IGbMajor
IIAbMajor
iiiBbmMinor
iv°CdimDiminished
VDbMajor
viEbmMinor
viiFmMinor

Same notes, different home

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

Other modes on Gb

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

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