5 Easy Lydian Guitar Licks You Should Know

By Tom Hess

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What is it about Lydian guitar licks that guitarists just love?

Why do Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and many others use it in so many of their solos?

And how can you use Lydian guitar licks to get that awesome dreamy sound in your playing too?

This article & video show you how.

And as you’ll soon see:

...it’s not as hard as you might think.

You don't have to be an advanced guitar player to play in Lydian mode.

Nor do you have to know a lot of music theory.

Once I show you the basic principles...

...you can have a lot of fun with the Lydian mode, starting today.

To begin, check out the video below.

Learn these 5 awesome Lydian guitar licks I show you and use them to spice up your playing:

 

Doesn't the Lydian mode sound amazing?

Here is how to get the most out of the 5 Lydian guitar licks you just learned:


Tip #1. Pay Attention To Your Phrasing For More Expressive Lydian Guitar Licks

Phrasing is about how you play the notes. Ever notice how 2 guitar players can play the same solo with the same notes and sound totally different?

Phrasing is what makes the difference.

How do you refine your phrasing to play killer Lydian guitar licks on-command like what I showed you in the video?

Pay attention to nuances of: vibrato, slides, bends, muting and articulation. Listen carefully to the phrasing of my examples in the video and do your best to match it.

(If you don’t want to “sound like me” – that’s ok. You can always change your phrasing later to whatever style you like. But changing your phrasing is much easier than developing it from scratch.)

Watch this video to see what I mean by “matching phrasing nuances”:
 

 

Tip #2. Transpose All Your Licks Into Lydian Guitar Licks

This is a fun exercise you can practice for weeks and never get bored.

Do this:

Take any of the major key guitar licks you know. Find where the 4^th scale degree is. And raise it ½ step (1 fret) to #4.

Important:

“Scale degree” means the note in the scale. NOT: “the 4^th note you play in a lick”.

For example: if you know guitar licks in C major – look for the “F” note (the 4^th scale degree). Raise all the “F” notes to F# to change the lick to Lydian mode.

 

Question: “Tom Hess, what if I have some guitar licks I want to play in some minor key? (Say E natural minor)? Can I change them to make them Lydian guitar licks too? Is this how you make your Lydian mode licks?”

Answer: Yes, of course. Find scale degrees b3, 4, b6 and b7. Raise them all by ½ step (1 fret) to transpose your natural minor lick to Lydian mode.

If you want more help with this – I can help you in breakthrough guitar lessons.
 

Tip #3. Practice “Milking” The #4^th And the 7^th Note In Lydian Mode

The #4 note in Lydian is ½ step below the 5^th note. And the 7^th note is ½ step below the root note.

These half step intervals contain much of the emotion & dramatic feeling of Lydian mode.

And you can “milk” these half steps using dramatic, slow bends.

Want to see the difference this makes in your playing? Check out this guitar licks video:
 

Tip: wrap your thumb around the neck of the guitar when you bend strings. This makes bending (and vibrato) easy to do. See this photo:
 

Tip #4. Turn Lydian Guitar Licks Into Killer Riffs

Remember our talk about transposing any given lick into a potentially countless number of Lydian guitar licks?

You can do the same with guitar riffs. Either write your own riffs (using guitar licks from the Lydian mode) from scratch…

… or transpose riffs you already know into Lydian from other keys. (The process is exactly the same as described earlier for lead guitar licks.)

This is a super easy & fast way to create songwriting ideas when you are stuck.

Now you know easy ways to use the Lydian mode to play more your very own Lydian guitar licks & riffs.

What next?

The next step is to add fire & emotion to every note of your guitar licks, so you sound great even if you can't play fast yet. I show you how in my free eGuide on playing guitar with emotion.

Grab it now and learn the secrets of lead guitar playing most guitarists never know - then fulfill your creative potential with Lydian mode and every other mode!

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About Tom Hess: Tom Hess is a guitar teacher, music career mentor and guitar teacher trainer. He teaches rock guitar lessons online to students from all over the world and conducts instructional live guitar training events attended by musicians from over 50 countries.

Learn more about how to create your own Lydian guitar licks to master other modes with rock guitar lessons online.