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Scales › Lydian augmented ♯2

Lydian augmented ♯2 scale

exotic Lydian augmented ♯2

7 notes

guide tones (3rd & 7th — the heart of the sound) avoid (strong clash)

C · D# · E · F# · G# · A · B

What color?

Lydian augmented loaded with a #2 (#9) on top of the #11 and #5: a major seventh saturated with high, bright colors. A rare, exotic mode from harmonic major, to reserve for moments when you want maximum sparkle.

Origin & history

The sixth mode of the harmonic major. One of the most tense theoretical modes, with no tradition of its own.

Which chords to play it on?

Outside the functional consensus: this is an exploration color. Lay it over a vamp or a held chord to tint your improvisation with an unexpected flavor, rather than inside a cadence.

Sibling modes

The Lydian augmented ♯2 scale is one of the modes of the harmonic major : it shares exactly the same notes as the modes below, but built on a different degree of the parent scale (harmonic major (Ionian ♭6)).

harmonic major (Ionian ♭6) major with a bittersweet ♭6 Dorian ♭5 Dorian with diminished fifth Phrygian ♭4 Phrygian with lowered eleventh Lydian ♭3 (Lydian diminished) diminished minor Lydian Mixolydian ♭2 dominant with a colorful b9 Locrian ♭♭7 diminished Locrian bb7

Try it in a real chart

Paste a chord chart into the tool: Pentania tells you, chord by chord, when this scale fits — and what other colors are open to you. Open the tool →