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lesson has been revised and published in THE
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The
Lydian Dominant Mode - This mode of the
melodic minor scale will help you get a bit
of a more jagged vibe when playing over dominant
chords.
If
you don't have all your patterns of the melodic
minor scales down, get going on them now.
Pattern
1
Pattern
2
Pattern
3
Pattern
4
Pattern
5
Review
time. These are all the modes of the melodic minor
scale. This lesson will deal with the fourth mode,
the lydian dominant mode.
1.
Melodic Minor
2.
Dorian b2 mode
3.
Lydian Augmented mode
4.
Lydian Dominant mode
5.
Mixolydian b6 mode
6.
Locrian #2 mode
7.
Altered mode
(sometimes called the Super Locrian mode)
The
order of the modes will never change even when
the key does. Examine the chart below. By checking
the very bottom row of the chart you can find
out what chord the mode works for. Ex: the E lydian
dominant mode is the same as the B melodic minor
scale and works over a E unaltered dominant chord.
melodic
minor
dorian
b2
lydian
augmented
lydian
dominant
mixolydian
b6
locrain
#2
altered
A
B
C
D
E
F#
G#
E
F#
G
A
B
C#
D#
B
C#
D
E
F#
G#
A#
F#
G#
A
B
C#
D#
E#
(F)
min/maj7
min7
maj7#5
7
7
min7b5
altered
7
The
lydian dominant mode
The
use of this scale is given away by it's name;
Lydian = #11, dominant = b7. This scale forms
unaltered dominant chords but keep in mind it,
unlike the mixolydian mode it contains a raised
11th.
Chords
from the lydian dominant mode: 7, 9, 7#11, 13.
Remember: no 7sus4 chords found anywhere in the
vicinity of this scale.
Compare
the mixolydian scale to the lydian dominant
scale below and check out the differences.
E
mixolydian scale
E
lydian dominant
Anytime
you run into an unaltered dominant chord, you
can use the lydian dominant mode. Remember the
lydian dominant mode rule: lydian dominant
= melodic minor scale up a perfect 5th.
Test
time. Get out your pencil and paper and then check
your answers down at the bottom.
Test
1.
A
lydian dominant = ? mm
6.
B
lydian dominant = ? mm
2.
E
lydian dominant = ? mm
7.
D
lydian dominant = ? mm
3.
G
lydian dominant = ? mm
8.
F
lydian dominant = ? mm
4.
C
lydian dominant = ? mm
9.
D
lydian dominant = ? mm
5.
F#
lydian dominant = mm
10.
Bb
lydian dominant = ? mm
To get used to the sound of this scale, I would suggest that you simply play it over a simple one-chord C9 vamp. THis will help your ears get used to the sound. Try mixing it up with the blues for a spectacular effect:
This scale can be used as a replacement for the
mixolydian scale over just about any dominant
chord (except a sus chord) but one big giveaway
for this scale is when a bV sub pops up in a ii
- V - I. Check out the example below. Play C dorian
(Bb major) over the Cmin11 chord, B lydian dominant
(F# melodic minor) over the bV sub, B7#11 chord
and Bb lydian (F major) over the Bbmaj7 chord.
You
might find the following example difficult. Up
to now all the exercises we have worked on have
been just that; exercises. This one is a real
song. First record or sequence the chord progression
at a very slow tempo and gradually speed it up.
For fun you might want to try to interchange the
mixolydian mode with the lydian dominant mode
from time to time. This song, "Extraordinaire"
is on my latest cd, "Prospects." If
you want to hear how I played over the changes
click here.
Extraordinaire
If the videos cannot be viewed, go here: pt.1,pt.2
Test
Answers
1.
E
mm
6.
F#
mm
2.
B
mm
7.
A
mm
3.
D
mm
8.
C
mm
4.
G
mm
9.
A
mm
5.
C#
mm
10.
F
mm
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Information
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