In this video you can hear me playing an improvised piece of music which I named Dream of Something Real. The title reflects the unstable, shimmering, dreaminess of the B♭ Ionian Augmented mode, which feels bright and expansive but also like you can’t quite get your footing. The twilight effect of the C Mixolydian ♭6 mode adds to the dream-like quality for me. The Mixolydian flat 6 mode often makes me think of lucid dreaming — it has a light major 3rd, but also a shadowed flat 6 and 7 which distort the standard major scale. To me this feels a bit like being awake within a dream — everything seems kind of real but the shadows don’t quite have the right shape. The B♭ Major feels like that “something real” — major tends to be grounded, stable, resolute and warm.
I also played with the themes of lucid dreaming in another improvisation which you can listen to here: Lucid Dream Between.
For this improvisation, I started in B flat Ionian Augmented. The Ionian Augmented mode is like the Ionian mode (I.e. major scale) but with a sharpened/raised 5th degree, resulting in an augmented tonic triad. This augmented tonic triad feels expansive as it is literally expanding the shape of the standard major triad, turning a perfect 5th into an augmented 5th, reaching upwards. This augmented interval brightens the standard major triad, but also destabilises it, because the standard major triad or major scale depends on the perfect 5th for resolution.
I then modulated to B flat major, also known as B flat Ionian. The major scale is more grounded and stable due to the gravity of its functional harmony.
Next I moved to C Mixolydian flat 6. The Mixolydian flat 6 mode has a major tonic triad due to its major 3rd degree, but the flattened 6th and 7th add a magical shade.
I then moved back to B flat major before returning to and closing in the ethereal and unsettling B flat Ionian Augmented. This unresolved ending was a bit like a yearning and reaching for that “something real”.
Modes Used, Note Names and Parent scales
| Mode | Note Names | Parent Scale | Modal Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| B♭ Ionian Augmented | B♭, C, D, E♭, F♯, G, A | G Harmonic Minor | 3rd Mode of G Harmonic Minor |
| B♭ Major (Ionian) | B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G, A | B♭ Major | 1st Mode of B♭ Major |
| C Mixolydian ♭6 | C, D, E, F, G, A♭, B♭ | F Melodic Minor | 5th Mode of F Melodic Minor |
Interval Formulas
- Ionian Augmented: 1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — ♯5 — 6 — 7
- Major (Ionian): 1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — 7
- Mixolydian ♭6: 1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — ♭6 — ♭7
Further Reading and Listening
Learn more about modes in general here: Complete Guide to Modes of the Major, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor Scales
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