Formula
- Degrees: 1 2 3 #4 #5 6 7.
- Steps: W W W W H W H (2 2 2 2 1 2 1 semitones). The first five degrees form a whole-tone scale.
- Parent scale: 3rd mode of melodic minor. Eb Lydian augmented = notes of C melodic minor from Eb: Eb F G A B C D.
- On C: C D E F# G# A B (from A melodic minor). On F: F G A B C# D E (from D melodic minor).
Characteristic note and color
The augmented 5th (#5) together with the #4: Lydian becomes even more suspended, “floating”, without a stable floor. Color: dreamlike, unreal, sci-fi, an unstable light. It is the sound of the maj7#5 chord.
Diatonic chords (C Lydian augmented)
| Degree | Triad | Seventh |
|---|---|---|
| I+ | C+ | Cmaj7#5 |
| II | D | D7 |
| III | E | E7 |
| #iv° | F#° | F#ø7 |
| #v° | G#° | G#ø7 |
| vi | Am | Am(maj7) |
| vii | Bm | Bm7 |
The characteristic chord: maj7#5
Cmaj7#5 = C E G# B. Heard with a “pop” ear it is an E major triad over the bass C: E/C. It is a very frequent voicing in film music and modern jazz: the upper triad is clear and consonant, and the bass a major third below makes it mysterious. With the #11 and the 9th: Cmaj7#5(#11, 9) = C D E F# G# B, the whole mode except the 6.
Where it is used
- Jazz: on the bIII+ of the minor (Ebmaj7#5 in C minor), as a substitute for or color of the major tonic (Cmaj7#5 in place of Cmaj7 for a moment of instability) and in modern ballads.
- Film and TV music: slash chords such as E/C, D/Bb, G/Eb (a major triad over a bass a major 3rd below), which sound “magical” and unresolved. It is one of the tricks of composers who want a strange light without harsh dissonances.
- Neo-soul, fusion, ambient: maj7#5 pads as passing chords toward a normal maj7 (Cmaj7#5 → Cmaj7, the G# falling to G or rising to A).
Typical progressions
- I – I+ – I6 – I7 (C – C+ – C6 – C7): the classic chromatic line on the tonic G – G# – A – Bb; with the major 7th held (Cmaj7 – Cmaj7#5 – C6) the second chord is exactly the Lydian augmented color.
- E/C – D/C – E/C: Lydian augmented over a pedal (the two upper triads are the III and II of the mode).
- Ebmaj7#5 → Fm7 or → Cm(maj7): in C minor the bIII+ resolves well to the iv or returns to the tonic.
Melodies
- The most “telling” notes are the #5 (which tends to rise to the 6 or fall to the 5 of a following chord) and the #4.
- A phrase that rises 3 – #4 – #5 – 6 – 7 – 8 expresses the whole mode.
Songs and references
The maj7#5 color is typical of jazz composers like Wayne Shorter and Chick Corea and of modern jazz ballads; in film music the E/C chord and its transpositions are a recurring gesture in scenes of wonder or suspension (many composers use it as a passing chord, rarely as the key of an entire piece). It is treated in detail in Levine, The Jazz Theory Book, in the chapter on the modes of melodic minor.
Common mistakes
- Keeping the perfect 5th (G) together with the G#: you create a semitone that cancels the #5 color.
- Using it on a normal maj7 of a tonal progression for more than an instant: it becomes a wrong note.
- Confusing maj7#5 with the plain augmented triad: without the major 7th the color is whole-tone, not Lydian augmented.
Exercise
- Pad: alternate Cmaj7 and Cmaj7#5 (E/C voicing) every bar and write a melody that uses G# and F#.
- Build four slash chords “major triad over a bass a major 3rd below” (E/C, F#/D, Ab/E, Bb/Gb) and use them for a 30-second cue.
- In C minor insert Ebmaj7#5 between Cm(maj7) and Fm7.
Connections
Melodic minor and its modes; Lydian mode; Whole-tone scale; Altered chords; Scales for film music.