Formula
- Degrees: 1 2 3 #4 5 6 b7.
- Steps: W W W H W H W (2 2 2 1 2 1 2 semitones).
- Parent scale: 4th mode of melodic minor. F Lydian dominant = notes of C melodic minor from F: F G A B C D Eb.
- On C: C D E F# G A Bb (from G melodic minor). On D: D E F# G# A B C (from A melodic minor).
Alternative names: Lydian b7, Mixolydian #4 (#11), acoustic scale or overtone scale, escala nordestina in Brazil.
Why “acoustic scale”
The notes of the harmonic series of C, from the 8th to the 14th harmonic, approximate C D E F# G A Bb: the #4 (11th harmonic, a little flat) and the b7 (7th harmonic, very flat) are physically “natural”. Bartók, Debussy, Liszt, Szymanowski and Stravinsky used it as a color (Ernő Lendvai called it acoustic in his analyses of Bartók); Tuvan throat singing produces melodies close to this scale.
Characteristic note and color
#4 + b7: a dominant chord (3 and b7) with the brightness of Lydian. The color is bright, open, “suspended” and smiling, less directional than the Mixolydian dominant because the #11 eliminates the perfect 4th (which over a dominant chord is an avoid note).
Diatonic chords (C Lydian dominant)
| Degree | Triad | Seventh |
|---|---|---|
| I | C | C7 (C7#11, C13#11) |
| II | D | D7 |
| iii° | E° | Eø7 |
| #iv° | F#° | F#ø7 |
| v | Gm | Gm(maj7) |
| vi | Am | Am7 |
| bVII+ | Bb+ | Bbmaj7#5 |
Signature chord: I7#11 (C E G Bb F#), often as C9#11 or C13#11. The progression I7 – II7 (C7 – D7, or D/C over a pedal) is its typical gesture.
Where it is used (chord-scale)
Lydian dominant is the natural choice over dominants that do not resolve a fifth down:
- bVII7 (Bb7 in C major, the “backdoor”: Bb7 → C).
- IV7 in the blues and in jazz (F7 in a blues in C).
- Unresolved II7 (D7 in C: “Take the 'A' Train” by Billy Strayhorn, bars 3–4, with D7#11/b5).
- SubV7 (Db7 → C, tritone substitute): Db Lydian dominant contains the most important notes of G altered.
- V7 where the melody has the #11.
Use in genres
- Jazz: standards and bebop (7#11 dominants), fusion (Pat Metheny, Weather Report).
- Brazil: the baião and forró of the Northeast (Luiz Gonzaga) use the escala nordestina, i.e. Mixolydian #4 over a pedal of accordion, zabumba and triangle.
- Modern classical: Debussy (Préludes), Bartók (Mikrokosmos, Concerto for Orchestra), Stravinsky.
- Film and cartoon music: many bright, “extravagant” themes mix Lydian and Lydian dominant; Danny Elfman's themes are often cited as examples of Lydian color with a minor seventh.
- Rock and pop: the color of the “major II” (D in C) with the b7 in the melody; in funk, a vamp on a 9#11 chord.
Melodies
- Melodies that rise 3 – #4 – 5 or insist on #4 – 6 – b7.
- Over a dominant chord, a resolved #11 is not needed: it stays as color.
Common mistakes
- Using it on a V7 that resolves to the tonic (G7 → C): it works, but the most common scale there is Mixolydian or altered. The #11 over G7 → C is a modern color, not an error, but it must be intended.
- Playing the perfect 4th out of habit.
- Confusing it with Lydian: here the 7th is minor.
Exercise
- Blues in F: on the IV (Bb7) use Bb Lydian dominant (Bb C D E F G Ab) and compare it with Bb Mixolydian.
- Program a baião vamp at 100 BPM in G: G pedal, G7#11 chord, melody with C#.
- Reharmonize a V7 – I with SubV7#11 – I (Db7#11 – Cmaj7) and listen to the chromatic descent of the bass.
Connections
Melodic minor and its modes; Lydian mode; Mixolydian mode; Tritone substitution; The harmonic series; Chord-scale theory.