(The following essay was written by Eric Ventura of Massachusetts, whom I have had the pleasure of teaching both in a Level III and Master Level IV situation. Eric is a fine, young musican and teacher who has a keen mind and thorough understanding of elemental music. I count on Eric to make outstanding contributions to Orff Schulwerk in the future. His essay on the somewhat ignored Lydian mode makes for interesting reading by those interested in elemental music theory. A sample of the essay is below; click the link at the end of the sample for the entire work,)

Considering the Lydian Mode
Eric Ventura

      To this writer’s ear, the Lydian mode is one of the most colorful and expressive of the six modesused in the Schulwerk; yet, it is perhaps the most unexplored of the group. Most teachers areaware of the absence of the Lydian mode in the second volume Music for Children, as well asthe afterthought inclusion of Lydian material in the “sixth” volume – Paralipomena. What follows are some observations regarding the Lydian mode and its place in the Schulwerk.

The Lydian mode, in its original form, is built upon the fourth degree – “F”. The arrangement of intervalsyields a raised fourth degree (B natural) in relation to the common major (Ionian) scale pattern.The triads built on the given pitches present several options for harmony (non functional), whether converging melodic lines or shifting triads is the source. The listener’s ear will often discern strong movement between those changing triads with no common tones between them....... ( for complete essay in PDF format. CLICK HERE)