Falling In A Lydian Dream - Satriani Style

Hi everybody!

Let's talk about the Lydian mode today. The Lydian mode comes from the Major scale but starting from the 4th position, so we get the following notes/intervals (referring to the D major scale here):

G Lydian:
G (root) A (2nd) B (major 3rd) C# (#4th) D (5th) E (6th) F# (major 7th)

So as you see it's almost a major scale but instead of 4th we have #4th. This little change creates a dramatic effect or melancholic touch. Players like Satriani or Vai use this modes a lot.

I created a tune called "Falling in Lydian Dream" based on Satch's "Flying In A Blue Dream".
I used a few different Lydian scales here, in the A Part we have G lydian, Eb lydian and C lydian. So three different keys!

A Part 0:00-0:34
|G A/G | G | G A/G | G |
|G A/G | G | G A/G | G |
|F/Eb | Eb| D/C | C |
|G A/G | G | G A/G | G |

In the B section I switched to D dorian, G mixolydian and back to F lydian (all three modes are coming from C major).
So no modulation here!

B Part 0:35-1:06
| Dm7 | Dm7 | Gusset G| G C/G |
| Dm7 | Dm7 | Gsus4 G | G Am7 |
| Dm7 | Dm7 | Gsus4 G | G C/G |
| Fsus2| Fsus2 G/F| F | F |

In my solo you'll find a lot of typical Satriani's techniques, like melodies on just one string by using slides, shifting 6ths, blues phrases, deep vibrato, open harmonics with the tremolo bar, legato/staccato stuff and a cool heavy riff as well.

Final words
You find a lot of useful licks and melodies in my video that demonstrates this great lydian mode.
So have fun with it!

I tried to transcribe as close as possible. Specially in the Guitar Pro 5 you'll find all this little extras!

Cheers - Guido

Technical specifications
Guitar: Music Man Luke II
Strings: D'Addario NYXL 009
Recording Amp: Kemper Amp(Peavey 6505 Profile)
Amp (only for monitoring): Peavey JSX Top with Marshall 2x12" V30 Audio Interface: Focusrite Saffire PRO 24
Recording SW: Logic 9, several plugins

Standard tuning: E, A, D, G, B, E

Tempo: 124 BPM