Lydian Mode

One of the three major diatonic modes, the Lydian mode is often referred to as modal due to its limited usage compared to the Ionian major mode.

The major reason for the infrequent appearance of Lydian chord progressions in pop songs lies in the inferiority of the subdominant harmonic function. Its main subdominant triad, rooted in the fourth degree of the Lydian scale, is a diminished chord, which excludes its use in the phrase-ending cadences.

A detailed analysis of the Lydian mode and examples of its application in songwriting are explained in this article.

The selected articles cover popular songs composed using Lydian mode as well as harmonic analysis of their chord progressions. The list also includes articles on musical theory related to the Lydian major scale.