In the lesson of today I will show you how to play the Lydian mode on guitar in a few EASY steps
E Lydian is the 4th mode of B Major scale. It could be played over a variety of chords like E5 (power chord) E Maj 7th or E Major. Lydian is a major mode since it has a major 3rd interval.
1- Start by locating the root note E in your favorite position (Typically fret 7 on A string) then find other places of the root note all over the fretboard.
The backing track of our lesson today has 2 sections
(beside that exotic sounding intro!)
Verse E5 F#5 E5 G#5
Chorus B F# G#m E | B F# G#m
Note that in the chorus part we will shift focus to relative Aeolian in G# and relative Ionian in B.
2- As you start to improvise in the verse part, try to play a simple short for 3 notes. Add emphasis on the Bb note (which is the #4th that gives this mode its exotic sound) then resolve back to root note E.
A sample of this is that repeating phrase played in the intro part.
3- In the chorus part you can start by playing B Ionian which has that major scale sound. Then as the chords change to the second part you can play G# minor pentatonic or natural minor pentatonic.
If you like more Lydian backing tracks to play along with, check this playlist on Spotify
