Lydian Power Chord Progressions

A YouTube viewer had asked if it's possible to write power chord progressions in the Lydian mode.

Yes! Absolutely. You can definitely write power chord progressions in the Lydian mode.

First, let's go over a quick explanation of what the Ionian mode is, aka: the Major scale.

The Major scale is pretty much where all our music theory comes from in terms of intervals, how chords are built, etc.

Take any note, and follow these steps to get from one note to the next and you will have played a Major scale:

Whole Step, Whole Step, Half Step, Whole Step, Whole Step, Whole Step, Half Step

Those steps take you from the root note of the Major scale up to the octave of that very same root note. You can number each note along the way as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Those are also the interval numbers that make up the Major scale.

The Lydian mode takes the fourth note in the Major scale and raises it up one half step. This makes it a #4. That gives us the following intervals:

1, 2, 3, #4, 5, 6, 7

That #4 is the ONLY difference between Lydian and Ionian.

Now, let's look at how E Ionian can be played using power chords:

Now, let's do the same thing but with E Lydian.

The following progression starts in E Ionian and then goes to E Lydian. Going between the two modes can help you hear the difference between each mode.

These next two progressions are examples of power chord progressions in E Lydian.

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