Here is a video capturing another freeform improvisation of mine which I called Firefly at Dawn. It’s about a delicate and bittersweet paradox, where dawn is like a positive awakening, an emergence of insight; and yet it seems to outshine the internal light of the firefly — its bioluminescence, and the mysterious, secretive world of the night with its own insights. But perhaps these two things are not competing, because the firefly doesn’t lose its ability for bioluminescence just because the sun has come out. Its innate light is simply integrated as part of nature, alongside the bigger, grander illumination of daylight, resiliently glowing anew when night returns.
I started this improvisation in G sharp Dorian — the minor 3rd of the Dorian mode was like the shadows of the night, and the lifted major 6th was like the internal light of the firefly.
Then a modulation to D flat Lydian created light and expansiveness in its augmented 4th degree, like the opening of the sky in the emerging dawn light.
G sharp Phrygian created an inward turning due to the downward pull and darkness of its distinctive Phrygian flattened 2nd degree, like the secretive and mysterious nighttime world.
A subsequent mode that appeared, A Phrygian Dominant, also had that darkened Phrygian flattened 2nd degree, but with a glow in both its major tonic triad and distinctive major quality chord built on the flattened supertonic (♭II). An Andalusian cadence within A Phrygian Dominant introduced a melancholy and exotic descent, with a paradoxical brightening each time it landed on the major quality tonic triad of the mode. Learn more about the Andalusian cadence here: A Swirl of Mist
Then on the return to the home key of G sharp Dorian, I alternated between G sharp Phrygian and G sharp Dorian a few times, which felt like the shifting perspective of the changing light of dawn, as did a few alternations between D flat Lydian and G sharp Dorian.
Then the piece closed in G sharp Dorian, with its shaded and melancholy minor 3rd and hopeful major 6th representing the tranquility and potential of the half-light at dawn, and the return of the resilient firefly at nightfall.
Mode Table
| Mode Used | Note Names | Parent Scale | Modal Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| G♯ Dorian | G♯ – A♯ – B – C♯ – D♯ – E♯ – F♯ | F♯ Major | 2nd Mode |
| D♭ Lydian | D♭ – E♭ – F – G – A♭ – B♭ – C | A♭ Major | 4th Mode |
| G♯ Phrygian | G♯ – A – B – C♯ – D♯ – E – F♯ | E Major | 3rd Mode |
| A Phrygian Dominant | A – B♭ – C♯ – D – E – F – G | D Harmonic Minor | 5th Mode |
Interval Formulas
Dorian Mode Formula
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7
(Root, Major 2nd, Minor 3rd, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th, Major 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)
Phrygian Mode Formula
1 – ♭2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
(Root, Minor 2nd, Minor 3rd, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th, Minor 6th, Minor 7th)
Phrygian Dominant Mode Formula
1 – ♭2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
(Root, Minor 2nd, Major 3rd, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th, Minor 6th, Minor 7th)
Further Reading and Listening
Learn more about modes here: Complete Guide to Modes of the Major, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor Scales
How to Improvise on the Piano — A Basic Method
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