Chord progression leading using B lydian (and others)

Question

I'm reading the book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory, and in the book is a cool table with chord leading patterns.

The explanation in the book is this: So if you have a scale with the chords I ii iii IV V vi vii°, it tells you a way to arrange the chords, in this fashion: I (tonic) -> go to any chord. If i choose IV, then I can go to I, iii, V, vii°, so I choose V, and go back to the tonic. So you get the popular chord progression I IV V.

The whole table is this:

• I -> any
• ii -> IV, V, vii°
• iii -> ii, IV, vi
• IV -> I, iii, V, vii°
• V -> I
• vi -> ii, IV, V, I
• vii° -> I, iii

I like to think of this as a tip, that is similar to playing notes in the scale (you can choose any chord in any order, but if you respect this pattern, it will sound good, like how you can play notes outside the scale, but if you play only notes in the scale, it will sound good).

Does the same pattern apply for other scales, that aren't the same structure (major, minor, minor, etc.)? For example, B lydian, which is I II iii iv° V vi vii (major, major, minor, etc.):

• I -> any
• II -> iv°, V, vii
• iii -> II, iv°, vi
• iv° -> I, iii, V, vii
• V -> I
• vi -> II, iv°, V, I
• vii -> I, iii

Is this way of chord leading based on the order and type of chord (tonic, supertonic, etc.) like I did in the list above, or is there something more to it?

Answer 1

No, the same pattern would not necessarily apply for other scales. Take the relatively bog-standard Aeolian scale, for example:

v -> ???

At least for its manifestation in classical music, the v chord is often so bum that older composers often used V instead for chords that lead to i. When I've heard v used in classical music, it typically leads to a chord other than i.

The impression I've got from listening to pieces that use the Phrygian scale is that this is acceptable (if possibly incomplete):

(♭)II -> i, (♭)III, (♭)VI, (♭)vii

I would easily believe that this way of chord leading is based on the order and type of chord, though. It's just that the corresponding chords' types differ from the major/Ionian version.

Answer 2

Your list of chords to go to isn't a 'rule' to be broken, it's just a list of possibilities, restricted to the diatonic ones.

After I, IV you can go to ii, to II, to iv, to bVII, to III... Some of these aren't diatonic.

So what?

When listing chords it can be convenient to ring-fence the diatonic ones (else you'd have to list a whole LOT of chords). But don't get the impression that these are preferred, or even the most commonly used. Outside nursery songs (and 'theory' books) it just ain't so. We use those naughty chromatic chords ALL THE TIME.