Here is a video in which you can hear me playing a piece of music I improvised and named Daisy. Daisies can represent dusk and dawn because of the way the flowers close up when the day draws to a close, and open up again at first light. The word daisy originates from the old English word dægesēage, meaning “day’s eye”, reflecting the way the classic daisy has white petals radiating around a golden centre, appearing like an eye that opens up at the break of day. It’s about the natural rhythmic cycles of rest, peace, new beginnings and momentum.
I started this improvisation in C Phrygian — the darkness of the flattened 2nd along with the minor flavour of the flat 3rd, 6th and 7th feels to me like night falling. The characteristic Phrygian flattened 2nd literally draws the interval inwards, like the closing inwards of the daisy’s petals at dusk.
Next I moved to C Mixolydian flat 6 — the hybrid major-minor sound of the Mixolydian flat 6 mode, with its bright major 3rd and dark minor 6th and 7th sounds like twilight to me — evoking the liminal states of both dusk and dawn.
Then the C Lydian mode created light and expansiveness in its augmented 4th degree. An augmented interval is literally opening outwards, like the opening out of the daisy’s petals at dawn.
I cycled between these modes, like the cycles of dusk, night, dawn and day, before returning to the C Phrygian mode, which is where the piece closed, like the end of day.
Mode Table
| Mode Used | Note Names | Parent Scale | Modal Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| C Phrygian | C – D♭ – E♭ – F – G – A♭ – B♭ | A♭ Major | 3rd Mode |
| C Mixolydian ♭6 | C – D – E – F – G – A♭ – B♭ | F Melodic Minor | 5th Mode |
| C Lydian | C – D – E – F♯ – G – A – B | G Major | 4th Mode |
Interval Formulas
Phrygian Mode Formula
1 – ♭2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
(Root, Minor 2nd, Minor 3rd, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th, Minor 6th, Minor 7th)
Mixolydian ♭6 Mode Formula
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
(Root, Major 2nd, Major 3rd, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th, Minor 6th, Minor 7th)
Lydian Mode Formula
1 – 2 – 3 – ♯4 – 5 – 6 – 7
(Root, Major 2nd, Major 3rd, Augmented 4th, Perfect 5th, Major 6th, Major 7th)
Further Reading and Listening
Learn more about modes here: Complete Guide to Modes of the Major, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor Scales
