Film · Intermediate · major key

Lydian vamp (I–II)

I – II — Dreamy and floating, with a "wonder" quality — the raised 4th of the Lydian mode.

Chord shapes in G major (standard tuning)

Using a different tuning? Open it in the Looper — it finds playable shapes for whatever tuning you choose.

How the chords work

Written in Roman numerals, this progression is I – II — in C major that is C – D. Each numeral is a step of the scale; upper case is a major chord, lower case minor.

• I — the home chord — the progression feels finished when it lands here.
• II — a major II — the "V of V", brightening the way to V.

Lydian vamp (I–II) in all 12 keys

Practice ideas

• Beginners: play one strum per chord and say the chord names out loud, then two strums, then a steady down-down-up-up-down-up pattern.
• Change keys with a capo: keep the G major shapes and move a capo up — the capo calculator shows which fret gives the key you want.
• Solo over it: loop it in the Looper and improvise with the G major pentatonic or G major scale — the scale pages show every position and play a backing track.
• Train your ear: the progression ear trainer mixes this with similar progressions until you can tell them apart.

Similar progressions

• Lydian I–II–IV–I Imaj7 – II7 – IVmaj7 – Imaj7
• I–♭VI–IV–I I – ♭VI – IV – I
• Epic I–♭VI–♭VII–I I – ♭VI – ♭VII – I
• Country turnaround (I–I7–IV–II7–V7–I) I – I7 – IV – II7 – V7 – I
• Secondary dominant (I–II7–IV–I) I – II7 – IV – I
• I–II7–IV–I I – II7 – IV – I

← Chromatic mediants (I–♭VI–I–♭III) · 12-bar blues →

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