C Lydian dominant scale on guitar
C Lydian dominant has 7 notes: C D E F♯ G A B♭. Degrees: 1 2 3 ♯4 5 6 ♭7. Formula: W W W H W H W.
What notes are in the C Lydian dominant scale?
C, D, E, F♯, G, A and B♭. It has 7 notes; its formula in whole and half steps is W W W H W H W.
What does C Lydian dominant sound like, and when do you use it?
Lydian sparkle with a dominant groove: a happy surprise. Use it over 7(♯11) · dominants that don't resolve, and tritone substitutions.
To hear it: The Simpsons (theme) — Danny Elfman.
Chords in C Lydian dominant
| Degree | Triad | Seventh chord |
|---|---|---|
| I | C | C7 |
| II | D | D7 |
| iii° | E° | Em7♭5 |
| ♯iv° | F♯° | F♯m7♭5 |
| v | Gm | Gm(maj7) |
| vi | Am | Am7 |
| ♭VII+ | B♭+ | B♭maj7♯5 |
Chord progressions to improvise with C Lydian dominant
In Jam mode (the Jam button above) a band of grand piano, upright bass and drums (recorded instruments) plays these progressions as swing, bossa, groove or ballad, and the fretboard lights up the notes of each chord as it plays. It's a backing track made for this scale in C:
- Vamp (I7–II7): C7 | D7. I7–II7: the ♯4 (F♯) is the 3rd of the II7. Sparkle with groove.
- Modal (I7): a C7 vamp. A dominant that doesn't resolve: the F♯ is the star note.
C Lydian dominant positions on guitar
In standard tuning (E A D G B E), with 3 notes per string, C Lydian dominant is played in 7 positions along the neck:
- Position 1: frets 8 to 14 (starts on the root)
- Position 2: frets 10 to 15
- Position 3: frets 0 to 5
- Position 4: frets 1 to 7
- Position 5: frets 3 to 8
- Position 6: frets 5 to 10
- Position 7: frets 6 to 12
Same notes as
G melodic minor (ascending) · G melodic minor · B♭ Lydian augmented · D Mixolydian ♭6 · E Locrian ♮2 · F♯ altered
Lydian dominant in other keys
On other instruments
C Lydian dominant on piano · C Lydian dominant on bass · All scales