For this improvisation I was after a sound that conveyed sorrow, loss, bittersweetness, agitation and surreality and so I ended up combining two very unrelated modes — F♯ Aeolian for its lyrical sadness, and A Lydian Dominant for its otherworldly tension. The distance between these keys/modes expressed that friction between simultaneous yet seemingly incongruous moods I was picturing. At the same time these modes were precariously linked by a pivot chord (both modes share an A chord) which to me portrayed that sense of mournfulness dissolving into disquiet. In F♯ Aeolian, the A chord is chord III, or the relative major, and it provides a moment of brightness or bittersweetness within the sadness. In A Lydian Dominant, the A chord is the tonic triad, and yet it feels unresolved and suspended. The same chord represents two different realities depending on the mode: In F♯ Aeolian it feels poignant and memorial-like. In A Lydian Dominant it feels almost dream-like or hallucinatory, because it wants to be home (as a tonic triad is meant to be), but it can’t quite settle.

For this improvisation, I started with a variation of one of my favourite introductory textures — fast arpeggio/broken chord figures. This was within a chord sequence in F♯ Aeolian. Then I moved onto a melody and accompaniment texture, still within F♯ Aeolian, with the right hand playing harmonised melody, and the left hand playing broken chord and block chord accompaniment.

Next I played a few intermittent, sweeping, mostly descending arpeggios; first in F♯ Aeolian, then modulating to A Lydian Dominant with the aforementioned pivot chord as one of these arpeggios, followed by a fast scalic melody in A Lydian Dominant.

From there I moved to a more block chordal texture within A Lydian Dominant, before modulating back to F♯ Aeolian, and returning to some of the earlier melody and accompaniment ideas. 

Despite being less ungrounded than A Lydian Dominant, the return to F♯ Aeolian doesn’t quite feel fully resolved. 

Modes used, note names and parent scales

F♯ Aeolian is the 6th mode of A major, and A Lydian Dominant is the 4th mode of E melodic minor. 

Mode	Parent Scale	Notes of the Mode
F♯ Aeolian	A major	F♯ – G♯ – A – B – C♯ – D – E
A Lydian Dominant	E melodic minor	A – B – C♯ – D♯ – E – F♯ – G

Learn more about modes: Complete Guide to Modes of the Major, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor Scales

You might also like Fantasia in E — Improvisation in E Aeolian, B♭ Lydian, A Mixolydian ♭6 & E Dorian

Or Other, Part II — Improvisation in B Aeolian, B♭ Lydian ♯ 2 & A Phrygian Dominant