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B Lydian Mode
The B Lydian mode uses the notes of F-sharp major, starting on B: B, C-sharp, D-sharp, E-sharp, F-sharp, G-sharp, and A-sharp. Let’s look at it on the keyboard and on the staff, with fingering for both hands, and hear what sets it apart from B major.
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B Lydian mode overview
Visualize the B Lydian mode on the piano
On the keyboard, B Lydian uses B, C-sharp, D-sharp, E-sharp, F-sharp, G-sharp, and A-sharp, with C-sharp, D-sharp, F-sharp, G-sharp, and A-sharp on black keys, and B again at the top. These seven notes are the F-sharp major scale (the same keys as G-flat major), started on its 4th note. The notes are shared, but the home note is B, and that changes how the scale sounds.
What gives B Lydian its sound
Compared with the B major scale, only one note changes: the 4th is E-sharp instead of E. That raised 4th sits a tritone above the tonic, and instead of settling, the scale seems to float upward through it. It’s major, but brighter and less grounded than the major scale.
Its home chord, built on B from the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes, is B major (B, D-sharp, and F-sharp). Playing that chord before and after the scale helps the ear hear B as home rather than F-sharp.
Play B Lydian on the piano
The two charts show the fingering one hand at a time. Each hand covers the seven notes in two positions, a group of three fingers (red) and a group of four (blue); a note in green is an extra note at the end of the scale, outside the two positions.
The right hand starts on B with the thumb. Going up, the thumb passes under to E-sharp after the 3rd finger on D-sharp. The top B is played with the 5th finger. This is the fingering of the F-sharp major scale on the same notes: the thumb plays the same keys it plays in F-sharp major, so it never lands on a black key.
The left hand starts on B with the 4th finger. Going up, the 4th finger folds over the thumb from E-sharp to F-sharp. The top B is played with the thumb. This is the fingering of the F-sharp major scale on the same notes: the thumb plays the same keys it plays in F-sharp major, so it never lands on a black key.
The notes of B Lydian on the staff
On the staff, the eight notes climb by step from B to B, the right hand in the treble clef and the left hand an octave lower in the bass clef. B Lydian is written with the key signature of F-sharp major: six sharps (F-sharp, C-sharp, G-sharp, D-sharp, A-sharp, and E-sharp). The key signature belongs to F-sharp major, but here the line begins and ends on B, and that’s what makes it B Lydian.
Play B Lydian up and down one octave
Next, B Lydian as we’ll practice it: up one octave and back down, one note per beat, ending on a half note. The fingering for the right hand is written above the notes and for the left hand below.
Practice B Lydian
The fingering is not the difficult part here, since it follows a scale we already know. What tends to go wrong is the ear: the notes of B Lydian are familiar from F-sharp major, and the scale easily slips back toward F-sharp. Let’s work on it in a few stages.
- Find the home note first: Before the scale, we play the B major chord and let it ring, then play the scale and end on the same chord. The aim is to keep B as the center the whole way through.
- Compare with B major: We play the B major scale and then B Lydian, slowly, listening for E-sharp where B major has E. That one change is the whole difference in sound, and hearing it is more useful than any rule about the mode.
- Hands separately, then together: Each hand alone first, slowly and evenly, with special attention to the thumb passing under to E-sharp in the right hand. Then hands together, an octave apart, keeping the pulse even.
- Shape the line: Once it’s steady, we let the scale grow a little toward the top and relax on the way down. It turns the scale into a phrase and keeps the ear involved.
Avoid common mistakes in B Lydian
A few things tend to go wrong in B Lydian:
- Hearing F-sharp as home: Because the notes are those of F-sharp major, the ear tends to treat F-sharp as the center and B as a passing note. Starting and ending firmly on B, and playing the B major chord around the scale, keeps the mode’s own center clear.
- Falling back to B major: Out of habit, the hand often plays E instead of E-sharp. Slowing down at that point and naming the note before playing it usually fixes it within a few repetitions.
- Uneven thumb notes: The thumb plays on its side and tends to land heavily, especially right after passing under. Letting the thumb travel early and arrive lightly keeps the line even.
Other techniques related to B Lydian:
- The F-sharp major scale (the same notes, starting on F-sharp, the same keys as G-flat major)
- The B major scale (the same starting note)
- The Lydian mode on every note
- The Complete Guide to Piano Modes