Scale quality

lydian ♯2

Lydian sharp two is the sixth degree of harmonic minor, and one of the rarest qualities in the dictionary: a lydian shape with a raised second on top of the raised fourth. The sharp second is enharmonically a minor third, so the scale contains a dark minor-third colour inside a bright major frame. That contradiction makes it sound unsettled and cinematic rather than functional. It is the scale of the maj7 chord when a raised second is written, and it appears in modern jazz and contemporary classical writing. Listen for the sharp second and sharp fourth together — two raised notes changing the whole light.