Chord & FretLydian dominant (D)
Take Mixolydian — the natural scale for seventh chords, the ones that push toward motion — and raise its 4th a half step: you get Lydian dominant, which is also the 4th mode of the melodic minor. It pairs the open sparkle of the raised 4th with the grounded b7; in practice it sounds major, bright and always ready to move on. It is the classic choice over 7(#11) chords in jazz, and that #4-over-a-major-center color also runs through MPB, bossa nova and what many people call Brazil's 'Northeastern sound'.
Example: D – E – F# – G# – A – B – CFormula: 1 – 2 – 3 – #4 – 5 – 6 – b7In the formula, the numbers are degrees — positions counted in the reference major scale; "b" lowers a half step and "#" raises one.
Family: Melodic (jazz) minor and its modes.
The jazz-minor modes are central to jazz and sophisticated harmony. The #2/b3/#5 spelling is functional: enharmonically some notes sound the same, but the notation marks the tension they represent.
Chords in the harmonic field
These are the seven chords born from this scale — one built on each of its notes. Put another way: the set of chords that sounds naturally "inside" the scale. See the harmonic field of every key →
D7E7F#m7b5G#m7b5Am(maj7)Bm7Cmaj7#5The same scale on all four instruments
In the diagrams, each dot carries its scale degree — 1 is the tonic, highlighted.
What you see above is one box of Lydian dominant per instrument; the full map lives in the app. In Chord & Fret, you hear the scale in each of the four instruments' own voices; switch the dot labels between degrees, note names and fingers; and choose to start from the tonic or play the full box. Start free. Unlock everything with Pro. 100% offline. Open in Chord & Fret →