This video is a recording of me playing a piece of music I improvised and named Evanescent Glimpse Beyond. I chose this title because the music describes those moments where you get a fleeting feeling of sensing something deeper than the superficial — something beyond; or one of those instances where a hint of an idea starts to come to light but then evaporates as soon as you try and look directly at it, a bit like one of those “tip-of-the-tongue” moments. In my mind, the ethereal and unstable B♭ Lydian mode conveyed this feeling of ungraspable things and unanswered questions, while the B♭ Dorian sharp 4 mode conveyed mystery and shadowed secrets. The stable and grounded A♭ Ionian mode (major) portrayed a moment of clarity and certainty, before returning to the unresolved searching of the Lydian mode, like the music is saying “the story continues …”.
B flat Lydian is the fourth mode of the F major scale. As shown in the intervals formulas below, it is like a major scale (Ionian) but with a sharpened (or raised) 4th degree. This transformation of the perfect 4th into an augmented 4th destabilises the sound compared with the more grounded major, and makes it sound suspended and unresolved, as well as brightening the sound. It is the brightest mode of the major scale, but instead of increasing the cheerfulness, this heightened brightness creates the effect of fragmenting into the ether.
B flat Dorian sharp 4 is the fourth mode of F harmonic minor and is also known as the B flat Ukrainian Dorian mode. It is like the Dorian mode but with a sharpened 4th, and again that resulting augmented 4th destabilises and simultaneously brightens the sound. At the same time, it has paradoxical darkness in its minor 3rd degree, and mystery in the melodic interval of an augmented 2nd between its D♭ and E♮ — this unsettled, jagged augmented 2nd interval (present in all harmonic minor modes) creates unanswered questions and shadows.
A flat major is also known as A flat Ionian, and can be warm and stable due to the gravity and strong resolution in its functional harmonies. But this feeling of certainty was only fleeting, as the music soon returned to the unfinished sounding Lydian mode, via a detour back through the Dorian sharp 4.
Mode Table With Note Names and Parent Scales
| Mode / Scale | Note Names | Parent Scale / Key | Modal Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| B♭ Lydian | B♭, C, D, E♮, F, G, A | F Major | IV (Fourth Mode) |
| B♭ Dorian ♯4 | B♭, C, D♭, E♮, F, G, A♭ | F Harmonic Minor | IV (Fourth Mode/Ukrainian Dorian) |
| A♭ Major / Ionian | A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G | A♭ Major | I (First Mode/Ionian) |
Interval Formulas
- B♭ Lydian: 1 — 2 — 3 — ♯4 — 5 — 6 — 7
- B♭ Dorian ♯4: 1 — 2 — ♭3 — ♯4 — 5 — 6 — ♭7
- A♭ Major: 1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — 7
Further Reading and Listening
Read more about modes in general: Complete Guide to Modes of the Major, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor Scales
