Lydian mode

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Lydian is the name commonly given to the fifth of the eight church modes, the authentic mode on F, theoretically with B♮ but in practice more commonly with B♭ (Powers 2001). In the romantic and contemporary periods this has come to mean a diatonic scale of the natural notes from F to F, with a rising pattern of three whole tones, a semitone, two more whole tones and a final semitone—or a transposition of this pattern (Jones 1974, 42–43).

Greek Lydian scale

The Lydian mode is named after the ancient kingdom of Lydia in Anatolia. In Greek music theory, there was a scale or "octave species" based on the Lydian tetrachord, extending from parhypate hypaton to trite diezeugmenon, equivalent in the diatonic genus to the modern major scale: C D E F | G A B C. (In the chromatic and enharmonic genera, the Lydian scale was equivalent to C D♯ E F | G A♯ B C and C E E↑ F | G B B↑ C, respectively, where "↑" signifies raising the pitch by approximately a quarter tone) (Barbera 1984, 240). Placing the two tetrachords together, and the single tone at bottom of the scale produces the Hypolydian mode (below Lydian): F | G A B C | (C) D E F. Placing the two tetrachords together, and the single tone at the top of the scale produces the Hyperlydian mode (above Lydian), which is effectively the same as the Hypophrygian mode: G A B C | (C) D E F | G.

Mediaeval and modern Lydian mode

Modern Lydian scale on C

In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, this mode was described in two ways: first, as the diatonic octave species from F up to F an octave above, divided at C to produce two segments of tone–tone–tone–semitone and tone–tone–semitone, thus F–G–A–B–C and C–D–E–F; and, second, as a mode with a final on F and an ambitus extending to F an octave higher and in which the note C was regarded as having an important melodic function. Many theorists of the period, however, recognized that in fact it is B♭ rather than B♮ that is characteristic of this mode (Powers 2001).

The modern Lydian scale is a major scale with the fourth scale degree raised a semitone. As such, it corresponds to the scale of the medieval Lydian mode when B♮ is present instead of B♭. Its tonic, dominant, and supertonic triads are all major, the subdominant is diminished, and triads built on the remaining three scale degrees are minor.

A Lydian scale based on the note C consists of the notes C D E F♯ G A and B. Alternatively, if we start on the note F, the scale consists of the notes F G A B C D E. This scale can be played on the white notes of a piano without the use of any sharps or flats (black keys) only if started on the note F (F G A B C D E).

A rare, extended use of the Lydian mode in the Classical repertoire is Simon Sechter's 1822 Messe in der lydische Tonart (Mass in the Lydian Mode) (Carver 2005, 76). A more famous example from around the same time is the third movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132 (1825), titled by the composer "Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an die Gottheit, in der lydischen Tonart" ("Holy Song of Thanksgiving by a Convalescent to the Divinity, in the Lydian Mode"). The alternating passages in F use the Lydian scale with sharp fourth scale degree exclusively. Anton Bruckner similarly employed the Lydian scale is his motet Os justi (1879) more strictly than Renaissance composers ever did when writing in this mode (Carver 2005, 74–75).

Modern usage

Modern usage of the Lydian mode is often implied by certain chord spellings. For example, the chords D/C or Cmaj^7♯11 imply a C Lydian harmony.^{[citation needed]} (D/C⁷ or C^7♯11 would both imply the Lydian dominant scale, which is the same as Lydian but with a ♭7th note.)^{[citation needed]}

Ambiguity between Major and Lydian modes

Care must be exercised in identifying songs or pieces based in Lydian mode. It is common for listeners to confuse Lydian mode, particularly at the beginning of a piece, with an extended section based on the subdominant chord in a major key. So, for example, a piece in C major with a heavy emphasis on the chord of F major before the C tonality has been convincingly established, could be heard as centering around F, with a raised fourth.

A good example of this ambiguity of Lydian mode can be found in the song "Maria" by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim from the musical West Side Story; the opening measures of the main theme (E♭, A, B♭) could indicate E♭ Lydian mode, but the following four measures clearly establish B♭ major. By the time the E♭-A-B♭ motive appears again in measure six, we are clearly hearing a IV chord in B♭ major rather than a chord built on the tonic of E♭ Lydian. That said, the main theme and the song do cadence clearly to an E♭ major chord—although, in both cases, an A♭ (rather than the defining Lydian A♮) is prominently featured in the penultimate chord.^{[citation needed]}

On the other hand, it could be argued that a piece of music that follows this sort of pattern is actually fluctuating between Lydian mode and major tonality. For instance, in "Here Comes My Girl" by Tom Petty each verse alternates between a D♭ major and E♭ major chord, with a D♭ pedal tone maintaining the impression that D♭ is tonic, and a repeated guitar lick frequently hitting the essential raised fourth scale degree—G♮, in this case. This gives the verses a distinctly Lydian colour. But in the chorus sections of the song, the tonality clearly shifts to A♭ major.^{[citation needed]} This pattern is fairly common in pop music.^{[citation needed]} Whether these songs are shifting between Lydian and major tonality, or simply extending the IV chord in major tonality, is somewhat open to interpretation.

External links

• Lydian mode in six positions for guitar at GOSK.com

References

• Barbera, André. 1984. "Octave Species" (July) Journal of Musicology 3, no. 3 (July): 229–41. http://www.jstor.org/stable/763813 (Subscription access) doi:10.1525/jm.1984.3.3.03a00020
• Carver, Anthony F. 2005. "Bruckner and the Phrygian Mode". Music and Letters 86, no. 1:74–99. doi:10.1093/ml/gci004 (Subscription access)
• Jones, George Thaddeus. 1974. Music Theory: The Fundamental Concepts of Tonal Music Including Notation, Terminology, and Harmony. Barnes & Noble Outline Series 137. New York, Hagerstown, San Francisco, London: Barnes & Noble. ISBN 978-0-06-40137-4
• Powers, Harold S. 2001. "Lydian". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell, 15:409–10. 29 vols. London: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5 (set) ISBN 978-0-19517-067-2 (set) OCLC 44391762 (set) OCLC 248649842 (v. 15) OCLC 249589729 (v. 15, reprint with minor corr.) LCCN 00-55156^{[verification needed]} (set)