D♭ Lydian mode (C♯ Lydian)
D♭ Lydian mode is D♭ – E♭ – F – G – A♭ – B♭ – C, with D♭, E♭, A♭ and B♭. Formula 1 2 3 ♯4 5 6 7. Hit play and watch it light up on both instruments.
D♭ Lydian mode, note by note
The step pattern is W W W H W W H (W = whole step, H = half step). The half steps fall between G–A♭ and C–D♭.
| Degree | Note | Interval from D♭ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D♭ | root | |
| 2 | E♭ | major second | |
| 3 | F | major third | |
| ♯4 | G | tritone | |
| 5 | A♭ | perfect fifth | |
| 6 | B♭ | major sixth | |
| 7 | C | major seventh |
What D♭ Lydian sounds like
D♭ Lydian is D♭ major with the 4th sharpened to G. It sounds major but never quite settles, which is exactly why people reach for it.
The Lydian color comes from E♭, a major chord on the 2nd degree; D♭ to E♭ and back is the classic floating vamp.
Compared with D♭ major scale, D♭ Lydian mode has G where the other has G♭; the other six notes are shared. Hear D♭ major scale and compare.
D♭ Lydian mode uses the same seven notes as A♭ major, starting from D♭ instead of A♭. Same notes, different home note: what makes it Lydian is playing it over a D♭ bass or chord.
Where your hands go
D♭, E♭, A♭ and B♭ are on black keys; the rest are white.
18 notes fit in the box between frets 7 and 13, with D♭ at the 9th fret of the low E string.
Chords built on each note
Stack every other note of the scale on each degree and you get 7 chords. These are the chords that fit D♭ Lydian mode; the ones that differ from the A♭ major set are what give the mode its color. Tap to hear each one.
If you know D♭ Lydian mode, you already know the notes of C Phrygian (starting on the 7th note, C), E♭ Mixolydian (starting on the 2nd note, E♭), F natural minor (starting on the 3rd note, F), G Locrian (starting on the 4th note, G), A♭ major (starting on the 5th note, A♭) and B♭ Dorian (starting on the 6th note, B♭).
Finding D♭ Lydian on the neck
Find D♭ first: fret 9 of the 6th string, fret 4 of the 5th. Work up the neck in five positions (low E string frets 2, 4, 6, 9 and 11) and you'll have it everywhere. Hold a major chord and lean on the ♯4 to hear why film composers reach for it.
On the piano, D♭ Lydian mode uses 4 black keys (D♭, E♭, A♭ and B♭) and 3 white.
Thirds make the scale sound musical instead of step-by-step: D♭–F, E♭–G, F–A♭, G–B♭, A♭–C, B♭–D♭, C–E♭.
Three ways to practise D♭ Lydian
Once D♭ Lydian is comfortable up and down, break the order. Each pattern below uses only its 7 notes.
- Groups of three: D♭ E♭ F · E♭ F G · F G A♭ · G A♭ B♭ · A♭ B♭ C · B♭ C D♭.
- Land on G: D♭ G D♭ G D♭: the ♯4 floats where major has a plain 4th.
Scales to compare with D♭ Lydian
Lydian mode in every key
D♭ Lydian mode: questions
What are the notes of the D♭ Lydian mode?
D♭, E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D♭. As degrees: 1 2 3 ♯4 5 6 7.
How many sharps or flats are in the D♭ Lydian mode?
Four: D♭, E♭, A♭ and B♭.
What chords are in the D♭ Lydian mode?
Stacking thirds on each note gives D♭ (I), E♭ (II), Fm (iii), Gdim (iv°), A♭ (V), B♭m (vi) and Cm (vii).
What's the difference between D♭ Lydian mode and D♭ major scale?
G in D♭ Lydian; G♭ in the other. Everything else is the same.
Which major scale has the same notes as D♭ Lydian mode?
A♭ major. D♭ Lydian is A♭ major played from its 4th note, D♭.
Notes and fingering generated from the scale formula and checked automatically against the step pattern. Updated September 2026.