Here you’ll find a video capturing another improvised piece of music of mine which I named A Guiding Light. A guiding light can be metaphorical for a person who offers support, perspective and clarity; or for our own inner compass, intuition, and hope; enabling us to navigate uncertainties, challenges and darkness. For me, these ideas were represented by the warmth, light and groundedness of A major (A Ionian mode); and the twilight, shadows, ambiguity and mystery in the A Mixolydian flat 6 mode and F harmonic minor.
In this improvisation I used the A Mixolydian ♭6 mode to bridge the gap between the warm, stable, and bright A major (Ionian mode) and the darker and more haunted F harmonic minor. The A Mixolydian ♭6 mode keeps the lifted major 3rd degree (and the same major quality tonic triad) of A major/Ionian, but flattens the 6th and 7th degrees (resulting in a minor 6th and 7th), thus introducing shadow and a hint of minor sound, creating the distinct hybrid major/minor twilight sound of the Mixolydian ♭6 mode. This creates a kind of liminal space, before descending fully into the minor darkness of F harmonic minor.
I returned to A major for the final section, and this modulation was more abrupt than the previous ones, like a path that was previously overlooked suddenly coming to light after we fear we’ve lost our way. This return to the tonic key created a kind of structural resolution, like navigating the way back home after a journey through shadows and secrets.
Modes/Keys Used, Note Names and Parent Scales
| Mode / Scale | Note Names | Parent Scale / Key | Modal Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Major (Ionian) | A, B, C♯, D, E, F♯, G♯ | A Major | I First Mode of A Major |
| A Mixolydian ♭6 | A, B, C♯, D, E, F♮, G♮ | D Melodic Minor | V Fifth Mode of D Melodic Minor |
| F Harmonic Minor | F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♮ | F Harmonic Minor | I First Mode of F Harmonic Minor (relative minor of A♭ major) |
Interval Formulas
- A Major: 1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — 7
- A Mixolydian ♭6: 1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — ♭6 — ♭7
- F Harmonic Minor: 1 — 2 — ♭3 — 4 — 5 — ♭6 — 7
Learn more about major scales (aka the Ionian mode) here. Learn about the Mixolydian flat 6 mode here, not to be confused with the Mixolydian mode. Learn about harmonic minor scales here. Learn about relative minors here.
Learn about modes in general here (including modes of the major scale, harmonic minor scale, and melodic minor scale).
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