This video captures another freeform improvisation, this time exploring themes of unsettled tension, hope, persistence and presence. A ghost light is a lamp that is left on to illuminate a stage when the theatre is empty. Without it, the stage would be completely dark, and so its purpose is for safety, as well as superstition — to appease ghosts of the stage. It also symbolises resilience, and the idea that art and expression of the soul is never truly dead, even when the stage is abandoned — the ghost light is illuminating the space for it to return. For me, the A Dorian flat 2 mode can have a haunting and eerie quality, symbolising the ghost of the artist and the essence of the soul; and the E flat Lydian mode is full of ethereal illumination — the light that allows the essence to exist.
Modes Used, Note Names, Parent Scales, and Modal Relationship
The Dorian flat 2 mode is also known as the Phrygian natural 6 mode (or Phrygian sharp 6, or sometimes just Phrygian 6). It has darkness and eeriness in its Phrygian sounding flat 2, and lift in its Dorian major 6th degree.
The Lydian mode is the brightest mode of the major scale, due to having an augmented 4th in addition to its already bright sounding major 3rd. The augmented 4th destabilises it compared with the major scale, giving it a more ethereal feel, sometimes with tension and suspension.
| Mode | Parent Scale | Notes | Modal Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Dorian ♭2 | G Melodic Minor | A, B♭, C, D, E, F♯, G | 2nd Mode of Melodic Minor |
| E♭ Lydian | B♭ Major | E♭, F, G, A, B♭, C, D | 4th Mode of Major |
Interval Formulas
A Dorian ♭2:
1, ♭2, ♭3, 4, 5, 6, ♭7
E♭ Lydian:
1, 2, 3, ♯4, 5, 6, 7
Further Reading and Listening
Complete Guide to Modes of the Major, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor Scales
Elegy on a Shore — Improvisation in D & F Phrygian, E♭ Dorian, F Aeolian, A♭ Major, D♭ Lydian
The Gossamer Hinge — Improvisation in C Dorian ♯4, B♭ Aeolian & G♭ Lydian ♯2
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