Isn't unison a lack of an interval?

@@bipbong2906 yeah that’s right I’m pretty sure. You can’t do that on piano because each key is a different pitch. But with something like guitar for example you can play two or more strings together at the same pitch.

Technically many of the keys on a grand piano hits multiple strings, thereby playing as much as three of the same notes

Unison isn't an interval

@@bipbong2906 That's like saying zero isn't a number

Thanks, Al. Very kind of you to say and glad to hear it :) Mate, I hope I'm still learning when I'm 63. It's what makes life exciting.

That's funny. There IS a typo :-)

​@@WalkThatBass, I'm 61 and plan on continuing to learn until I reach room temperature. 🙃 Thanks for being a great teacher!

Listening to Takemistu while reading this was really a surprise hahaha

I get where your coming from, but this is jazz. Its often better to use your ear to what sounds good. If you want an F pedal pretty much through two different chords then why not

music is maths for non mathematicians more like alchemists, anyways whilst i find you noting of a Lydian numbering system more aethetic perhaps This CRAP about avoiding the 4th is PURE OUTRAGEOUS GARBAGE that stifled me and many millions for years, the typical 3rd slur is say (1)4,(1)b3, 3 The NATURAL 4th is AS INTEGRAL for a Great Soloist as ANY CHORD TONE Its like Joe Pass famously stating You cant use the b9 becuase it jars with the Root then a few seconds later dissoving into his musical brilliance with a fluid example flush with b9s ...wtf rofl IF YOU REALLY WANT TO SEE a Genius at times tell the Truth see George Bensons Art of Guitar where he effortlessly shows in REAL TIME with true Musical Lyricism how one can START and/or(perhaps a little less so) END a LICK WITH ANY NOTE and Sound Equally Awesome, ie including the Natural 4th or b9 b6 etc

To my understanding the reason why C Lydian scale is used to play over a Cmaj chord is because the first tetra chord in the Cmajor scale C,D,E,F (interval of a fourth C to F) leads to the tonic F and away from C (Interval tonics). The 2nd tetra chord of Cmaj G,A,B, C leads to the tonic C so in order to sound the Cmaj chord in a scale one would play C,D,E,F#,G,A,B,C The interval of a Fifth in the 1st tetra chord C to G has C a the tonic sound (again interval tonics). The C Lydian scale best conveys the sound of a C maj chord because both tetra chords have as it's tonic the note C

I think a classical musician would disagree with you. The major 7th is classed as a dissonance. You are creating an interval between two tensions. I'm not sure if that explaination is ok in jazz; they would say things like playing one chord on top of another; not inside it. Much better to play it safe and call the interval a minor 9th above the third.

It all depends on the mood you’re trying to establish. Passing tones and leading tones are always valid. Just like you can play B natural in a C7. It’s the same thing. Joe Henderson played off the Lydian a lot (Lydian augmented as well. Even his compositions were set off of some kind of Lydian Concepts . I’ve studied all of this. If you add some chromaticism it’s all the same. Tension and release is the goal. Miles Davis turned this concept into Kinda Blue. So what you dig. So your right but it’s a matter of perspective.

It's very cool that you discovered it independently! I got to it via a different path -- being annoyed at the asymmetry when describing modes relative to the default Ionian (major) mode that you have to sharp the 4th to get to Lydian, while all the other modes involve adding flats. If Lydian were the natural scale, the other modes would all be flats added from there. I was delighted when I discovered that George Russell had found even better reasons to center music theory on Lydian a few years before I was born. 🙂

Too kind, Kim. Thank you. Apologies for the belated videos :)

The thing is people don't hear in inversion. The fact that Dorian is its own inversion is brought up often but it's just a curiosity and has no real relevance acoustically. No one hears a Dorian scale, even played in sequence, and thinks to themselves "mmm, that was pleasing as fuck, because it was clearly an inversion of itself."

On the guitar fretboard it's more notice able if you play a C Maj7 with the F or 11 ringing against the Open B string...(it's a tritone) You can visually see it and heard it... But if you play the F as the add 4 in first octive...it's not as harsh.. becuase the B and E ( pure tones) are ringing The F (4th ) is ringing against the ROOT...another pure tone. well....It could be the b2 of B Harmonic min b2 ( N6)..if you were in B min..you could simply play the C Maj7 and modulate down to A minor. So you can revere the process ...Play D Maj7 instead of D7 Or simply play the F# min chord to B min....The G Maj would simply be in the Lydian possition.... In a wack out of way cycle to the 5th as lydian.lol. ( not as Ion).... It;s easier to see it on the guitar fret board... This way you could play the I, IV, V From G.....all maj7 chords.... G maj7, C maj7. D Maj7. Lmao or if you play from the C Maj7....D maj7....G maj7 I, II, V.....using all Maj7 chords... or II, V , I all maj7 chords D Maj7 G Maj7....C Maj7 it works...becuase a Maj7 chord is sort of like an inverted minor chord or you'll hear a minor chord ringing above the root. C.....E , G, B D F#, A C# G B, D F# on the guitar I can play an inverted E min...F # min...B min as if I was in B min... or play....G , 3, 6..........A, 3, 6......D, 3, 6 G , B E A C# F# D F# B then it;s just C as the 4th of G.. D 4th of A G 4th of D It sounds soft and pleasing to the ears jazz...( not harsh) Not using dominant chords all de time.... Dominant chords has dim chord ringing above the ROOT. example G.....B, D, F B dim/G That's what you;re hearing when playing the F against B it also gose together with the A melodic minor....verse A Natural minor. The F# is just the second arpeggio to D maj or D7 When you ascend...Play A Min.....D Maj E Maj descend E min D min A min It;s a different sound...one is harder the other is softer... Not wrong...just different. or you can do this Play A LYDIAN ascending.. then play A LOCRIAN descending... it'll sound smoother. The intervals are sort...MIRROR or inverted. when it's going UP it's PUSHING UP towards the octive when decsending it;s pushing DOWN towards the ROOT.

Haha. Cheers, mate :)

Why then is a unison and octave perfect?

Jude F. Yes

There’s nothing wrong with a tritone, the problem it removes is that raising the f removes the b-f tritone that belongs to the G7 chord from the same scale. The c and f# belong to the Ab7 which is not dominant to C like G is

@@themidger1 Thanks, my headache wasn't big enough before.

He does not say we've had it wrong, he says that according to george russel we've had it wrong. It's only a tool so explain something, not being prescriptivist

@@QuallityVideos Uhh... I never specified who said "we've had it wrong", and you yourself admit that Russell says precisely that. So what exactly are you disagreeing with here? And I don't think you understand what prescriptivist even means, because if someone's saying we've had it wrong, that is the definition of prescriptivism. What is prescriptive if not telling what is and is not correct, and "wrong" is the opposite of correct.

Thanks, Johnny.

Yeah, it's pretty dense...The Ulysses of music theory.

Hey mate, So, the LLC is really complex and really convoluted and difficult to understand. It's really poorly written and Russell uses unnecessarily complicated language and renames all the scales to make things extra confusing. If you give me your email address (you can private message me) I can give you some resources which will help. But essentially, George Russell came up with 7 'Principle Scale' (Lydian, Lydian Augmented, Lydian Diminished, Lydian b7, Auxiliary Augmented, Auxiliary Diminished, Auxiliary Diminshed Blues), the main one of which is the Lydian Scale. He then derives chords from each of the degrees of each of the 7 Principle Scales and says you can use any of the 7 Principle Scales over a chord that can be derived from one of the 7 Principle Scales. It's just a different way of allocating 'correct' scales to a particular chord. Say we have a Cm7b5 chord and we want to find a scale to use to improvise over this chord. This chord is the #4 chord of the Gb Lydian Scale. This means we can use the 7 principle scales (he also adds 4 horizontal scales) from Gb over this chord (Gb Lyd, Gb Lyd Aug, Gb Lyd Dim, Gb Lyd b7, Gb Aux Aug, Gb Aux Dim, Gb Aux Dim Blues). Gb Lydian will sound the most ‘pleasant’ or ‘consonant’ over this chord, and the most related to the Lydian Tonic of (Gb). The further out you go (Aux Dim, Aux Dim Blues) it will sound more harsh and ‘dissonant’ and less related to the Lydian Tonic of Gb. But Cm7b5 is also the VI chord of Eb Lydian Diminished Scale (Eb F Gb A Bb C D Eb). This means we can use the 7 vertical and 4 horizontal scales from Eb over this chord (Eb Lyd, Eb Lyd Aug, Eb Lyd Dim, Eb Lyd b7, etc.). But Cm7b5 is MORE related to Gb Lydian and LESS related to Eb Lydian - so will sound more consonant over Gb and more dissonant over Eb. So you have a choice of 22 different scales you can use to improvise over this one chord. That's the general idea behind it. But like I said, it's unnecessarily complex and lots of people disagree with it. But it is an interesting idea. But if you are interested then shoot me through your email and I'll send you what I have.

rad! i'm gonna hit you up. what u wrote makes sense, but i start to get a little confused when people talk about why things are more correct than other things in terms of music theory. that's bc music is often created and THEN years later it's put into a box and given rules. you know what i mean- classical, baroque, jazz, etc. but, music theory is just that- THEORY, so it's got its believers and haters. hahaha. again, you know that. i am interested in seeing the lydian theory in depth. i am also a believer that context and culture shapes what we perceive as 'correct' so since we've been told what feelings to associate with minor chords and what feelings to associate with minor chords, etc., makes me wonder how we'd perceive music with fresh ears, untainted by culture. alright- time geek out! : )

Well, The musician and teacher at New England Conservatory in Boston Ben Schwendener studied and worked with George Russell for years, and he just released a Book entitled ORGANIC MUSIC THEORY where he explain in details and with examples the Lydian Cromatic Concept. I think you should give this book a try. Best regards.

To my understanding the reason why C Lydian scale is used to play over a Cmaj chord is because the first tetra chord in the Cmajor scale C,D,E,F (interval of a fourth C to F) leads to the tonic F and away from C (Interval tonics). The 2nd tetra chord of Cmaj G,A,B, C leads to the tonic C so in order to sound the Cmaj chord in a scale one would play C,D,E,F#,G,A,B,C The interval of a Fifth in the 1st tetra chord C to G has C a the tonic sound (again interval tonics). The C Lydian scale best conveys the sound of a C maj chord because both tetra chords have as it's tonic the note C

No worries, Viplav.

Hi Billie, Apologies for the late reply, I had to go back to the book to refresh my memory. The Lydian Chromatic Concept is very confusing and I’m not sure even George Russell completely understood what he was talking about. Let me see if I can try answer your points. They probably won’t be perfect answers, because the LCCOTO is very convoluted. Horizontal Scale - Is a scale that feels like it is moving towards a scale tonic note (root note). This is because the scale contains a natural 4. If we have the chord CMaj7, the C Major (Ionian) Scale feels like it is moving towards the note C. Here he is talking about standard ‘tonal’ music theory. This creates a ‘horizontal’ tonal gravity because it feels like the scale is moving horizontally in a song towards the note C. Vertical Scale - is a scale that fees like it is not moving towards a tonic note. The scale and the chord are in ‘unity’ and perfectly complement each other without the need to resolve or move anywhere. If we have the chord CMaj7, the C Lydian Scale does NOT have the same tendency to resolve to the note C. All the notes sound good over the chord. Let’s take the F Lydian Scale = F G A B C D E F If you play the V chordmode of F Lydian Scale (C D E F G A B C) over an FMaj13#11/C chord - it will sound ‘vertical’ (related to the F Lydian Scale). The chord and the scale will sound ‘unified’ and there will be no forward motion that feels like it wants to resolve anywhere. All notes sound equal and consonant and there’s no pull to the tonic note. If you play the V chordmode of F Lydian Scale (C D E F G A B C) over a CMaj7 chord - it will sound ‘horizontal’. The scale will sound like it wants to move (horizontally) and resolve to the note C. But the C Major Scale is one of the ‘horizontal’ scales related to the C Lydian Scale. So the V chordmode of F Lydian Scale is the same as the I Major (horizontal) scale of C Lydian Scale when played over a CMaj7 chord. They are the same scale and because the scale is ‘horizontal’ it feels like it wants to resolve or move to the note C (the root note). This is just a different way of thinking about the same scale. But if you wanted to play the ‘true/best/most consonant/most ingoing’ scale of over the CMaj7 chord, you should play the C Lydian Scale (C D E F# G A B C). It’s just a different way of thinking about this scale. Even though you can use the C Ionian scale over a CMaj7 chord (as a horizontal scale in C Lydian), in reality the scale ‘belongs’ in the F Lydian Scale/key and sounds ‘unified’ over an FMaj13#11/C chord. And I wouldn’t worry too much about the letters he uses. He uses different letter names at different times in the book with no real consistency. The important part is the actual note on the piano, not the name of the letter. Sometimes he uses F C G D A E B C# Ab Eb Bb Gb. And sometimes he uses F C G D A E B C# G# D# A# E##. And in terms of when and how to use this concept and the various scales in practice, I think it is to be used as follows. Say we have a Cm7b5 chord and we want to find a scale to use to improvise over this chord. This chord is the #4 chord of the Gb Lydian Scale. This means we can use the 7 vertical and 4 horizontal scales from Gb over this chord (Gb Lyd, Gb Lyd Aug, Gb Lyd Dim, Gb Lyd b7, Gb Wholetone, etc.). Gb Lydian will sound the most ‘pleasant’ or ‘consonant’ and the more related to the Lydian Tonic of (Gb) - i.e. it will sound ingoing. The further out you go (IV - Aux Dim, bII - Aux Dim Blues) it will sound more harsh and ‘dissonant’ and less related to the Lydian Tonic of Gb - i.e. it will be outgoing (so it will sound like it is going to change key/Lydian Tonics soon). But Cm7b5 is also the VI chord of Eb Lydian Diminished Scale (Eb F Gb A Bb C D Eb). This means we can use the 7 vertical and 4 horizontal scales from Eb over this chord (Eb Lyd, Eb Lyd Aug, Eb Lyd Dim, Eb Lyd b7, Eb Wholetone, etc.). But Cm7b5 is MORE related to Gb Lydian and LESS related to Eb Lydian - so will sound more ingoing towards Gb and more outgoing towards Eb. So you have a choice of 22 different scales you can use to improvise over this chord. I think that is the general idea behind the concept. As I said before, it’s a very confusing and difficult concept to understand and lots of people disagree with it. And the book is written terribly. It sounds like he is trying to disguise his confused theory with big words. I hope that makes a little bit of sense. If you find a better explanation please let me know, because I would be interested. But that’s the best I could understand it. In practice, the idea of vertical vs horizontal thinking and the idea of chord-scales are important. The finer details of the LCCOTO are less important in a Jazz context.

Allright, went back into the gravity order and i'm starting to understand. So cool that point with EbmMaj7 and Cm7b5, it's really a web. But which are the 4 horizontal scales? Adding just C# and G# from F lyd seems to include almost all scales ( D melodic minor, harmonic maj (c, A and min (A) etc) that could be used as tonics in gypsy stuff So it's strange it's only 4

Yeah, exactly. It's all interwoven, like a big web of related scales and chords. This is the idea behind the chord-scale system. And I don't know why there are only 4 horizontal scales. I agree, I don't see why there are not more of them. But this is just Russell's theory and decided to only have 4 horizontal scales, for whatever reason.

undbedingt. ich auch.

No worries, Gabriel.

Depends where you put it. On top of a C chord as an 11th it creates a minor ninth with the third - not very nice. However put in the bass C/F it sounds ok.

Agree that Satriani has moments of a pure maestro HOWEVER I find his keeping his solo for parts strictly Modal at all times in many songs really unmusical and boring and its only where he breaks this mindless robotic modalism legato and ventures into a little more thought and effort with his creative dissonant usually slow progressions eg listen to a true genious like george benson on his Art of Jazz Guitar DVD Or Larry Carlton on his Friends album (South Town or even Song in the 5th grade which would put Steve Vai Joe and all the supposed young guns in their place) )mixing and blending ALL stuff that sounds like real lyricism akin to vocal music of a master

The other modes aren't as central to the above concept. But I will eventually do a video on how and when to use the other modes. Though I've already got a lesson on the Phrygian Chord where I discuss the Phrygian mode in a bit of detail.

Walk That Bass Cool, I'll make sure I check out that Phrygian video. And thank you for the response.

Give it a go, but it is notoriously nebulous and dense. I personally didn't get much out of it, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a go. Good luck...

Ryan Henderson The study is one of the fundamental studies in modern jazz. You calling it unnecessary? You can think of it as Gion scale but it’s tonic is C, making it Clyd. Also, in modal music, ionian and lydian scales are equal - lydian is just “as right a scale” as ionian is. The study is making lydian scale the “base scale”, because it’s more natural. I haven’t read the lydian chromatic theory (it costs 140€) but I acknowledge that this video is a g r o s s simplification.(not devaluing the video, it’s great)

Ryan Henderson , you are on the right track with a few of your assumptions: the notes of C maj7 belong to the key of G maj (and its subsequent lydian mode). However this is because of the fact that every maj7 chord belongs to two natural major modes and will be the I chord of its root, and the IV chord of its 5th (the keys of C and G in this case). What the lydian chromatic concept tells us is not that the Cmaj scale is an innappropriate scale to use in the context of a Cmaj7 chord in the key of C, but instead, that in order to reach a modality where the notes of the C maj 7 chord (and all of its extensions) harmonize themselves perfectly (in fifths) is to raise the 4th degree, as is illustrated in this video. What we can learn from this is not 'a better way to play over a Cmaj' or any other rule as such, but instead it is a way to gain greater insight on why any Ionian mode sounds good in the first place. Let us imagine that music were to be played in only the lydian mode. As similar as it is to the major (ionian) mode, it lacks one key element: the tonic and dominant relationship. That is, our ear's desire for V chords to resolve back to I chords. The true beauty to the lydian chromatic concept is that it highlights the most pure and unadulterated harmony possible with the 12 tone diatonic scale.

4 years late to the party here, but my answer would simply be play what sounds good. I would hope George would suggest the same too. Heck I've even heard Ionian used to good effect on the IV.

Which is kind of B.S. considering tonality is still reinforced by the fact that you still have a major V with the same voice leading that makes V in major a satisfying dominant for I. I don't see how Lydian "removes tonality."