A♭ / G♯ Lydian Scale

72 scales in every key on a map of the whole neck: positions, patterns, and every note played as it lights up.

The A♭ Lydian scale has 7 notes: A♭ – B♭ – C – D – E♭ – F – G. Lydian is the major scale with a raised 4th. That ♯4 floats instead of resolving, giving a dreamy, magical sound loved by film composers. In Indian music it is Kalyan thaat, the scale of raga Yaman.

A♭ and G♯ are the same pitch, so this page covers both names; the notes are spelled from A♭, the way the key is usually written. Compared with the A♭ major scale it has ♯4 (D instead of D♭).

The explorer above is set to A♭ Lydian: the whole neck is mapped, and you can zoom into any of its 7 positions, change the labels to degrees or fingers, and hear it up, down and in patterns.

A♭ Lydian scale notes

Degree	Note	Interval from A♭	Frets above the root	Sargam
1	A♭	R	0	S
2	B♭	M2	2	R
3	C	M3	4	G
♯4	D	A4	6	M'
5	E♭	P5	7	P
6	F	M6	9	D
7	G	M7	11	N

Steps between the notes: W W W H W W H (W = two frets, H = one fret). Start on any A♭ and follow those steps up one string to play the scale.

A♭ Lydian scale positions on the guitar

With three notes on every string, A♭ Lydian has seven patterns that climb the neck. Position 1 starts on A♭ on the low E string at fret 4; each next position starts on the next note of the scale. In standard tuning, high string first:

Position	E (1st)	B	G	D	A	E (6th)
Position 1 frets 4–10	6 8 10	6 8 9	5 7 8	5 6 8	5 6 8	4 6 8
Position 2 frets 6–11	8 10 11	8 9 11	7 8 10	6 8 10	6 8 10	6 8 10
Position 3 frets 8–13	10 11 13	9 11 13	8 10 12	8 10 12	8 10 11	8 10 11
Position 4 frets 10–15	11 13 15	11 13 15	10 12 13	10 12 13	10 11 13	10 11 13
Position 5 frets 11–16	13 15 16	13 15 16	12 13 15	12 13 15	11 13 15	11 13 15
Position 6 frets 13–18	15 16 18	15 16 18	13 15 17	13 15 17	13 15 17	13 15 16
Position 7 frets 15–20	16 18 20	16 18 20	15 17 19	15 17 18	15 17 18	15 16 18

Chords in the A♭ Lydian scale

Stacking every other note of the scale on each degree gives these chords. They are the chords a song in A♭ Lydian is made from, and the chords this scale fits over.

	I	II	iii	♯iv°	V	vi	vii
Triad	A♭	B♭	Cm	Ddim	E♭	Fm	Gm
7th chord	A♭maj7	B♭7	Cm7	Dm7♭5	E♭maj7	Fm7	Gm7

Where you hear it

A♭ Lydian is used in film scores, fusion, progressive rock and dream pop. It sounds best over major 7th chords, especially major 7♯11, and a I – II chord change.

Backing tracks to practise A♭ Lydian

A♭ blues shuffle A♭ slow blues A♭ major pop A♭ major ballad A♭ jazz ii – V – I A♭ Mixolydian rock

How to practise it

Play position 1 (frets 4–10) slowly, up and down, saying the note names.
Play it with the pattern set to In 3s, then In 4s, at a tempo where every note is clean.
Learn position 2 and how it joins position 1: the notes they share are where your hand moves.
Switch the labels to degrees and find every A♭ (1) in each position.
Improvise over a backing track, ending your phrases on A♭.