This Backing track is from the Jamzone, make sure to read the associated article(s)!

We are concerned here with playing two modal progressions to suit the F Lydian mode for practicing making solos. If you are soloing use the Normal Speed audio to Jam along with, or just download the mp3 file.

A modal progression isn't as scary as it sounds. It really just means finding the chord best suited to backing your desired mode for soloing, and emphasizing it. The Lydian mode is always the 4th mode of your main key. So let's look at the key of C major:

C - E - G - B = C Major Seventh (Cmaj7) - Ionian
D - F - A - C = D Minor Seventh (Dm7) - Dorian
E - G - B - D = E Minor Seventh (Em7) - Phrygian
F - A - C - E = F Major Seventh (Fmaj7) - Lydian
G - B - D - F = G Dominant Seventh (G7) - Mixolydian
A - C - E - G = A Minor Seventh (Am7) - Aeolian
B - D - F - A = B Half-Diminished (Bø7) - Locrian
C - E - G - C = C Major Seventh (Cmaj7) - Ionian

You can see here that the 4th Mode (Lydian) is based around the Fmaj7 chord. So, to make a 'modal progression' that suits the Lydian mode we will simply use chords from the above list that make Fmaj7 the dominant chord.

In this backing music we are going to use two simple chord progressions with fingerpicking. Both Progressions emphasize the Fmaj7 chord, but differ in the use of surrounding chords, and fingerpicking style.

First Progression

Fingerpick using a T12321 pattern:

Fmaj7 3 times then G major once. Repeat.

Notice that we are just using a G major here rather than a G7 chord. This really doesn't matter. A G major chord is the same as G7, except missing the 7th note. It is much easier to shift your fingers up from Fmaj7 to G major in this way than to fret a full G7 chord. It's just a case of being practical here.

Second Progression

Fingerpicking changes here to playing a simple bassline with your thumb and striking / muting the rest of the chords with your other 3 fingers:

Fmaj7 3 times then Em7 once. Repeat.

Notice how the Fmaj7 chord sounds like the central chord in both progressions. This is because we use it the most and also because the other two chords fall either side of Fmaj7 (see the above list). This further makes Fmaj7 sound like the centre ground.

Modal progressions are typically short. That's because they tend to just emphasize one particular chord. Like in this case we are playing a lot of Fmaj7 and only briefly switching to other chords. You can use other chords from the above list too, some will work better than others. Once you have had a look at this ActionTab, check out the Lydian solo A example. This will show you how a Lydian solo sounds.

And also here is an extended loop of the backing music in mp3 Format to help you with your own F Lydian Solo experiments:

ActionTab Jazz F Lydian Backing mp3

You will need to at least know the F Lydian scale patterns shown here to make your own solos.