C lydian scale on 5-string bass

C · D · E · F♯ · G · A · B

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 24 · Modes.

The notes

  1. C1
  2. D2
  3. E3
  4. F♯♯4
  5. G5
  6. A6
  7. B7

The C lydian scale is C, D, E, F♯, G, A, B.

You may also see it called 1 2 3 ♯4 5 6 7.

On the staff

CDEF♯GABC

On a bass staff, the C lydian scale is written C D E F♯ G A B.

This is one octave of the C lydian scale, written on the bass clef. Guitar and bass music is written an octave higher than it sounds, and the small 8 under the clef is the sign for that.

Why the C lydian scale has this sharp

  1. C1
  2. T
  3. D2
  4. T
  5. E3
  6. T
  7. F♯♯4
  8. S
  9. G5
  10. T
  11. A6
  12. T
  13. B7
  14. S
  15. C8

A scale is a pattern of steps, and this one is T T T S T T S: a tone, a tone, a tone, and so on. S stands for a semitone, the distance of one fret or one key. T stands for a tone, which is two semitones. The pattern is what gives C lydian its sound, and it stays the same whichever note you start on.

The second rule is that a seven-note scale uses each letter name once, from A to G, so its seven notes take seven different letters. That is why C lydian is spelled the way it is, rather than with whichever accidental looks tidier.

Together, the two rules leave no room for choice. If you walk the pattern up from C, one letter cannot keep up:

  • F♯ — the sharp fourth. The pattern needs a tone from E, but E to F is only a semitone, so F has to rise to F♯.

That accidental was not a choice. Once you pick the note to start on, the pattern decides the rest, and a key signature is a record of the result.

The C lydian scale is written with F♯, because the T T T S T T S pattern of steps cannot be spelled with plain letters from C.

The pattern of steps is the part of a scale that never changes. The letter names take sharps or flats to fit that pattern, and a key signature is a record of those sharps or flats.

On the piano

1C2D3EF5G6A7B1C2D3EF5G6A7B1C2D3EF5G6A7B1C2D3EF5G6A7B1CC♯D♯♯4F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯♯4F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯♯4F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯♯4F♯G♯A♯C0C1C2C3C4

The keyboard shows the same seven notes as a shape you can see. The coloured keys are the C lydian scale, and you can click any key to hear it.

C lydian scale on the whole neck

BEADG123456789101112131415B7C1D2E3F♯♯4G5A6B7C1D2E3F♯♯4G5A6B7C1D2E3F♯♯4G5A6B7C1D2E3F♯♯4G5A6B7C1D2E3F♯♯4G5A6B7C1D2E3G5A6B7C1D2E3F♯♯4G5A6

65 notes of the C lydian scale are marked across five strings.

This is every place the notes of the C lydian scale fall on the 5-string bass, with each note's name and its scale degree. The roots are marked so you can find your bearings.

Position by position

Position 1 — starts on the 1
BEADG123456123♯4567123♯45671
Position 2 — starts on the 2
BEADG34567823♯4567123♯456712
Position 3 — starts on the 3
BEADG56789103♯4567123♯4567123
Position 4 — starts on the ♯4
BEADG789101112♯4567123♯4567123♯4
Position 5 — starts on the 5
BEADG8910111213567123♯4567123♯45
Position 6 — starts on the 6
BEADG10111213141567123♯4567123♯456
Position 7 — starts on the 7
BEADG1213141516177123♯4567123♯4567

The C lydian scale has seven playable positions, at frets 1–5, 3–7, 5–9, 7–11, 8–12, 10–14 and 12–16.

Each shape starts on a different degree of the scale and fits inside five frets, so your hand can play all of it without moving.

One climb up the neck

BEADG12345678910123♯4567123♯4567123TAB13523573574579579

The climb runs from fret 1 to fret 9 and plays seventeen notes.

This is one path from the lowest root to the top of the neck, and it plays each note once, never on two strings. It takes a different number of notes on different strings. The widest stretch on any one string is five frets.