What it is
The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization is the theory published by George Russell in 1953 (reissued and expanded in 1959 and 2001). It is considered the first original theoretical contribution to come out of jazz and it profoundly influenced modal jazz: Miles Davis and Bill Evans knew it, and Kind of Blue (1959) is often read in light of these ideas; Coltrane’s approach has frequently been analyzed with Russell’s method.
The central idea: “tonal gravity”
Russell starts from the series of perfect fifths stacked on the tonic: C – G – D – A – E – B – F#. These seven notes form the C Lydian scale. For Russell it is Lydian, not Ionian, that best expresses unity with the tonic, because:
- in Ionian the 4th (F) is a fifth below the tonic and “pulls” toward another tonic (F);
- in Lydian all the notes derive from fifths above the tonic: the #4 does not call the center into question.
The concept of tonal gravity describes how “close” each note is to the tonic in the chain of fifths.
The Lydian chromatic order
Continuing the chain, Russell orders all 12 notes by decreasing gravity:
C – G – D – A – E – B – F# – G# – Eb – Bb – F – Db.
The first seven are Lydian; the eighth note is G# (the #5, which leads to Lydian augmented), then Eb, Bb, F, Db. The farther along the order you go, the more “outgoing” (distant, tense) the sound.
The main scales of the concept
Russell defines a family of Lydian scales derived from the parent scale:
| Scale | Formula | On C |
|---|---|---|
| Lydian | 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7 | C D E F# G A B |
| Lydian augmented | 1 2 3 #4 #5 6 7 | C D E F# G# A B |
| Lydian diminished | 1 2 b3 #4 5 6 7 | C D Eb F# G A B |
| Lydian b7 | 1 2 3 #4 5 6 b7 | C D E F# G A Bb |
| Auxiliary augmented | whole-tone | C D E F# G# A# |
| Auxiliary diminished | whole-half octatonic | C D Eb F F# G# A B |
| Auxiliary diminished blues | half-whole octatonic | C Db Eb E F# G A Bb |
The formulas are given according to the most widespread presentation of the method; Russell adds terminological nuances in the various editions of the book.
A chord’s “Lydian parent scale”
For each chord Russell looks for the Lydian scale that contains it in the most “unified” way:
- Cmaj7 → C Lydian (C D E F# G A B), which avoids the conflicting perfect 4th.
- G7 → F Lydian (F G A B C D E): it contains G A B C D E F, that is, G Mixolydian.
- Dm7 → F Lydian (same notes as C major).
- G7alt → Db Lydian b7 (Db Eb F G Ab Bb Cb), which contains the notes of the G altered scale: it is the tritone substitution seen from the Lydian perspective.
The ii–V–I in C thus becomes: F Lydian (ii and V) → C Lydian (I). In “Giant Steps” Coltrane would be moving among three Lydian parent scales (C, Ab and E).
Vertical and horizontal; ingoing and outgoing
- Vertical approach: one scale per chord (similar to chord-scale theory).
- Horizontal approach: a single parent scale for a whole section (e.g. one Lydian tonality over several chords), as a soloist does when “playing over” the changes.
- Ingoing / outgoing: playing close to the tonic in the Lydian chromatic order (ingoing) or far from it (outgoing), up to using all 12 notes while still keeping a center.
Listening
- George Russell, “Cubano Be, Cubano Bop” (with Dizzy Gillespie, 1947), Ezz-thetics (1961), Jazz in the Space Age (1960).
- Miles Davis, Kind of Blue (1959); Bill Evans; John Coltrane, “Giant Steps” (1959) for the analysis of the parent scales.
Use for a producer and composer
- Thinking Lydian over maj7 chords makes pads and toplines brighter (the #11 in place of the 4th).
- Reducing a progression to one or two parent scales simplifies composing melodies that flow over several chords.
- The Lydian chromatic order is a scale of “controlled tension”: choose how far to “go out” of the key by adding notes in that order.
Common mistakes
- Thinking that Russell “forbids” Ionian: the concept is a hierarchy of gravity, not a stylistic rule.
- Confusing a chord’s Lydian parent scale with the Lydian mode of each chord: G7 does not become “G Lydian”, but lives in F Lydian.
- Believing that the theory is only modal: it is a system for organizing chromaticism too.
Exercise
- Find the Lydian parent scale of: Am7, D7, Gmaj7, F#ø7, Bb7#11.
- Over a loop Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7 improvise with F Lydian over the first two chords and C Lydian over the third.
- Gradually add to the C Lydian scale the notes G#, Eb, Bb, F, Db (in that order) and hear how the “outgoing” tension grows.
Related
Lydian mode; Pythagorean tuning; Chord-scale theory; Tritone substitution; Modal harmony and modal loops.