I named this piano improvisation after one of the Oceanids (water nymphs) in Greek mythology — Akaste (or Acaste). Akaste personifies the chaotic, turbulent and unpredictable nature of flowing water; such as rainfall, springs and streams. She was also a companion of Persephone, who was abducted by Hades to become Queen of the Underworld. The myth tells us that Akaste along with several other Oceanids, was picking flowers with Persephone when Hades emerged from a chasm to take Persephone to the Underworld — and so in some representations Akaste becomes associated with this loss of innocence and splitting of the world into the upper and lower realms. She was someone who saw this truth but her voice was powerless and she disappeared — she was an erratic and unstable nymph.
For this improvisation, I started with a chord sequence that cycled through G Aeolian and G Dorian sharp 4, using a texture that consisted of fast broken chords and arpeggios in changeable patterns, morphing into tremolos at times — echoing the turbulence and natural chaos of running water, and Akaste’s character. At times there was a partially obscured melody voiced through upper notes and inner parts — this felt like Akaste’s unheard voice, and her hiddenness, having disappeared as soon as Persephone was kidnapped.
Near the middle of the piece there was a break from the fast roiling broken chord textures, with a section in C Dorian flat 2 which was slower, and sparser in texture. The Dorian flat 2 mode is a dark mode due to its Phrygian flattened 2nd degree (hence the alternative name — Phrygian ♮6 mode) — this results in an unsettled and unstable feel, again representing the character of Akaste. At the same time, the Dorian flat 2 has an element of warmth and light due to its major 6th degree. This felt a bit like tentative hope that Akaste hasn’t disappeared forever — nymphs/Oceanids are near-immortal beings, or at least long-lived and eternally youthful in the mythology, after all.
Near the end of the piece, during a return to the cycling through G Aeolian and G Dorian sharp 4 there was another slowing of the tempo and reduction of turbulence in the texture, allowing the mournfulness of these two modes to be conveyed, echoing the sorrow for lost innocence. But the greater clarity of the melodic voice at this point again offers hope that Akaste’s voice isn’t truly lost.
Modes – Notes and Parent Scales
| Mode | Notes | Parent Scale | Mode Degree |
|---|---|---|---|
| G Aeolian | G – A – B♭ – C – D – E♭ – F | B♭ major | 6th mode of the major scale |
| G Dorian ♯4 | G – A – B♭ – C♯ – D – E – F | D harmonic minor | 4th mode of the harmonic minor scale |
| C Dorian ♭2 | C – D♭ – E♭ – F – G – A – B♭ | B♭ melodic minor (ascending) | 2nd mode of the melodic minor scale |
Interval Formulas
G Aeolian
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
G Dorian ♯4
1 – 2 – ♭3 – ♯4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7
C Dorian ♭2 (also called Phrygian natural 6)
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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