Lydian Augmented #2 stacks three raised degrees - #2, #4, and #5 - on top of a major framework. The effect is shimmering and unstable, like sunlight through a prism: recognizably major in its bones, but stretched in every direction. You'll hear this kind of color in Messiaen's organ works and in the more adventurous corners of Gil Evans' orchestrations.
Scale Formula
1 #2 3 #4 #5 6 7 - major with #2, #4, #5. Semitone pattern: WH H W W H W H
Fretboard (C Lydian Augmented #2)
In interval view, notice how the raised degrees spread across the fretboard. The #2, #4, and #5 don't cluster together - they're distributed throughout the scale, which is why the brightness feels pervasive rather than concentrated in one region.
Common Chords
Augmented triad (1 3 #5), Major 7th#5 (1 3 #5 7).
Diatonic Harmony
Improvisation Context
This fits over major 7th#5 chords when you want to go beyond standard Lydian Augmented territory. The #2 adds a layer of harmonic ambiguity - listeners can't easily place where the tonal center is, which makes this scale effective for suspended, impressionistic passages.
Characteristic Note
The #2 is what separates this from regular Lydian Augmented (from melodic minor), which uses a natural 2nd. Raising the 2nd places an augmented 2nd right at the start of the scale - between the root and #2 - so the mode's unusual character announces itself from the first two notes. Among seven-note scales, few carry this many raised degrees, which is why even experienced players need time to hear it as a coherent sound rather than a collection of alterations.
Practice
Run through C Lydian Augmented #2 a few times to absorb the augmented 2nd at the bottom of the scale (C to D#). Then play C Lydian Augmented from melodic minor - the only change is D versus D#, but that first interval reshapes the entire feel. Over a Cmaj7#5 drone, spend some time with each raised degree individually: build a phrase around the #2, then one around the #4, then one around the #5. Once each altered tone feels familiar on its own, let yourself combine them freely. The goal is to hear this as a unified sound - not three separate modifications bolted onto a major scale.