This video captures another piano improvisation of mine, this time exploring themes of slow-burning passion, resistance and resilience. Instead of a big, raging, destructive inferno; it is a spark of sustained heat and defiance, simmering with potential. Unlike a chaotic fire that demands to be extinguished in one fell swoop, it’s a pilot light that refuses to go out. A small flame symbolises hope, vulnerability, steady passion and quiet inner strength. The fiery G Phrygian dominant mode combined with the bright B flat Lydian mode and the grounded and wistful D Aeolian mode represented these ideas for me.
The G Phrygian dominant mode is the 5th mode of the C harmonic minor scale, and its distinctive semitone progression between the major quality tonic and supertonic chords creates an exotic warmth and passion. In this piece it doesn’t explode with unbound energy, but simmers more quietly.
The B flat Lydian mode is the fourth mode of the F major scale, and like any Lydian mode, it has brightness and tension in its augmented 4th. I modulated between the G Phrygian dominant and B flat Lydian modes with a moment of constant structure chord planing — a series of parallel major chords — brightening the sound, perhaps like a flare in the flame.
The D Aeolian mode is the sixth mode of F major, and it is dark, melancholy and lament-like; but also has light and hope in its submediant chord which I used a lot. It felt like a representation of vulnerability yet persistence, and a refusal to be extinguished.
Modes Used, Note Names, Parent Scales, and Modal Relationships
| Mode | Parent Scale | Notes | Modal Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| G Phrygian Dominant | C Harmonic Minor | G, A♭, B♮, C, D, E♭, F | 5th Mode of Harmonic Minor |
| B♭ Lydian | F Major | B♭, C, D, E, F, G, A | 4th Mode of Major |
| D Aeolian | F Major | D, E, F, G, A, B♭, C | 6th Mode of Major |
Interval Formulas
G Phrygian Dominant:
1, ♭2, 3, 4, 5, ♭6, ♭7
B♭ Lydian:
1, 2, 3, ♯4, 5, 6, 7
D Aeolian:
1, 2, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭6, ♭7
Further Reading and Listening
Complete Guide to Modes of the Major, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor Scales
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