F lydian scale on bass

F · G · A · B · C · D · E

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

The notes

  1. F1
  2. G2
  3. A3
  4. B♯4
  5. C5
  6. D6
  7. E7

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

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

On the staff

FGABCDEF

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

This is one octave of the F 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 F lydian scale has no sharps or flats

  1. F1
  2. T
  3. G2
  4. T
  5. A3
  6. T
  7. B♯4
  8. S
  9. C5
  10. T
  11. D6
  12. T
  13. E7
  14. S
  15. F8

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 F 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 F lydian is spelled the way it is, rather than with whichever accidental looks tidier.

Every letter already falls where the pattern needs it, so F lydian is written with no sharps or flats at all.

The F lydian scale needs no sharps or flats, because every letter already falls where the T T T S T T S pattern of steps needs it.

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

5C6D7E1F2G3A♯4B5C6D7E1F2G3A♯4B5C6D7E1F2G3A♯4B5CC♯D♯F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯F♯G♯A♯C1C2C3C4

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

F lydian scale on the whole neck

EADG123456789101112131415E7F1G2A3B♯4C5D6E7F1G2A3B♯4C5D6E7F1G2A3B♯4C5D6E7F1G2A3B♯4C5D6E7F1G2A3B♯4C5D6E7F1G2A3

50 notes of the F lydian scale are marked across four strings.

This is every place the notes of the F lydian scale fall on the 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
EADG123456123♯4567123♯45
Position 2 — starts on the 2
EADG34567823♯4567123♯456
Position 3 — starts on the 3
EADG56789103♯4567123♯4567
Position 4 — starts on the ♯4
EADG789101112♯4567123♯45671
Position 5 — starts on the 5
EADG8910111213567123♯456712
Position 6 — starts on the 6
EADG10111213141567123♯4567123
Position 7 — starts on the 7
EADG1213141516177123♯4567123♯4

The F 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

EADG12345678910123♯4567123♯4567TAB13523573574579

The climb runs from fret 1 to fret 9 and plays fourteen 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.