D Lydian ♯2 ♯6 Scale
D Lydian ♯2 ♯6 contains 7 notes: D, E♯, F♯, G♯, A, B♯, C♯. It has 5 sharps: E♯, F♯, G♯, B♯, C♯. The step pattern is W+H–H–W–H–W+H–H–H.
An extremely bright, shimmering mode that sounds otherworldly and constantly ascending. It's rarely heard in traditional music but appears in film scoring for alien or supernatural atmospheres.
The formula is 1, #2, 3, #4, 5, #6, 7. The 2nd mode of the double harmonic scale, it takes Lydian's brightness and amplifies it with a #2 and #6. These two augmented 2nd intervals mirror the parent scale's exotic quality but in a major context, creating an intensely upward-pushing character.
Use your double harmonic shapes but establish the 2nd degree as the tonal center. The #2 and #6 create wide stretches that work well with legato technique. Best deployed as a brief color passage — a few bars of this mode over a sustained major chord creates an instant sci-fi atmosphere.