Scale quality

lydian

Lydian is the fourth degree of the major scale: the major pattern with a raised fourth. The sharp fourth is a tritone above the root, but instead of pulling downward it lifts, which gives the scale its floating, wonder-struck quality. Film composers use it for awe and space, and jazz players use it over major chords that need to shimmer rather than settle. Everything else about the scale is major, so the brightness stays intact; only the fourth is displaced. It is the scale of the maj7♯11 chord. Listen for the sharp fourth opening the top of the scale instead of closing it.