The Essence of Modes – Part 6
September 4, 2022
How can you actually reach the heights, that Lydian mode promised you to be able to reach?
Let’s think for a while about the idea of “base camp”. I wrote before:
“Lydian is a high possibility of opening the major, and trying to reach the height, while keeping the base camp in sight.”
I have a solution to reaching the height:
You must leave the base camp, because in Lydian mode the base camp stays in sight. The base camp is the base note. It’s the first note of the scale. Tonic.
You must leave the tonic behind. You must take a step away from it. You must take a step higher.
If you are playing in F Lydian, you should take a full step higher to G note. G is the new tonic note.
You don’t change any note in F Lydian scale. You just make G note the new tonic.
What happens?
You are now playing G Mixolydian.
That’s amazing!
As I wrote before, Mixolydian is the best major scale. There is a window to a landscape. Now you can see more clearly far away. You are higher. You climbed up a whole step from F note to G note. Now, playing G Mixolydian, you have reached the height, that F Lydian promised you to be able to reach.
Congratulations!
As an example of Mixolydian in action, you can listen to Bogdo Ula track Chord of a Circle. On that track I play the guitar solo in F# Mixolydian.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/jHo9Gyq1bg8
A classic example of Mixolydian in a guitar solo is heard on Frank Zappa’s song Shut Up ‘n’ Play Yer Guitar (all three versions). Some music scientist has claimed, that Zappa plays in those songs Lydian mode. That’s not true. Absolutely not. It’s Mixolydian. You must realize, that Zappa left the base camp behind and climbed higher. He reached the higher altitude, the next phase.
Frank Zappa: “Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.”
Back to Writings menu.