For this improvisation I felt like revisiting the idea of continuous polyrhythms within the warmth of the F♯ Dorian mode and the bittersweet elegy of the F♯ Aeolian mode. Then a more varied texture and rhythm within the mysterious and dream-like D Mixolydian ♭6 mode, and another Aeolian mode — D Aeolian. I chose the title “Chimera” to reflect the dual rhythmic systems where the polyrhythms create two simultaneous time streams, as well as polyrhythms vs non-polyrhythmic sections, the dual tonal centres — F sharp and D, and the unrelated keys. The word chimera represents a single body with disparate parts that shouldn’t logically go together, but somehow they do. E.g. a chimera can be a plant (or some other organism) with at least two sets of distinct DNA. In this improvisation, I felt as if the music was shifting its genetic code as I shifted modes and rhythms.
I started this improvisation with the polyrhythms mentioned above, in a fast and continuous fashion, a bit like I did in Anemone and Fantasia in E; however this time they were in the form of 3s against 2s. The right hand had triplet broken triads (the 3s) against broken 5ths in the left hand (the 2s). This texture continued through F♯ Dorian and F♯ Aeolian.
Then whilst still in F♯ Aeolian, the texture changed to non-polyrhythms, a little slower, but still with movement — 2 notes per beat often in both hands, featuring broken chords and arpeggio figures. Using a D major chord as a pivot chord, the music modulated to D Mixolydian ♭6, at first with similar patterns, then slightly changing the texture to more sweeping arpeggiated figures in the left hand, with syncopated chords and melody in the right hand.
This texture very subtly changed with a modulation to D Aeolian, by incorporating more harmonic 6ths into the right hand melody.
Then the music modulated back through D Mixolydian ♭6, F♯ Aeolian, and F♯ Dorian using similar texture/rhythm/mode combinations to earlier.
Whenever the music was in F♯ Aeolian, I tended to linger on chord VI, the D chord, which I often transformed into an upper extension — D maj♯11 — to me, this created a hint of a D Lydian sound, with its brightness juxtaposed against the darkness of Aeolian to create a bittersweet character.
Note names and parent scales
| Mode | Notes | Parent scale | Modal origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| F♯ Dorian | F♯ G♯ A B C♯ D♯ E | E major | 2nd mode of major |
| F♯ Aeolian | F♯ G♯ A B C♯ D E | A major | 6th mode of major (natural minor) |
| D Mixolydian ♭6 | D E F♯ G A B♭ C | G melodic minor | 5th mode of melodic minor |
| D Aeolian | D E F G A B♭ C | F major | 6th mode of major (natural minor) |
Interval formulas
F♯ Dorian
1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 ♭7
F♯ Aeolian (natural minor)
1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7
D Mixolydian ♭6
1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7
D Aeolian (natural minor)
1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7
Further reading and listening
Learn about more modes here:
More improvisations using the Aeolian mode:
