Scales › Lydian ♭3 (Lydian diminished)

Lydian ♭3 (Lydian diminished) scale

diminished minor Lydian

Lydian ♭3 (Lydian diminished) on the guitar: the fretboard diagram

Here is the Lydian ♭3 (Lydian diminished) scale laid out across the whole neck, from fret 0 to fret 15. The guide tones (3rd and 7th) are highlighted — they're what makes the scale's color sing. Use the key selector above to shift the shape along the neck and find the positions in your key.

What color?

Lydian whose third is minor: b3 and #11 over a major seventh, hence a bright, floating minor-major. A rare, refined color for a minMaj7 you want to feel airy rather than tense.

Origin & history

The fourth mode of the harmonic major (a Lydian with a minor third, or "Lydian diminished"). A theoretical mode with an ambiguous color.

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 ♭3 (Lydian diminished) 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)).

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 →