In this video you can hear me playing a piece of music I improvised on the piano and named Hidden Songbird. For me, the music felt like the voice of a small, lone bird, hidden in a thicket of trees, beneath a heavy shimmering canopy of leaves, and yet, the songbird’s nature is to sing freely and instinctively, unrestricted. At times there is a mournful Aeolian mode lament, reaching and yearning and hoping, sometimes a brightening as the canopy opens to the big sky and the expansive Lydian mode allows a soaring defiance against gravity.
I started this improvisation in F sharp Aeolian, which has elegiac darkness in its minor 3rd, 6th and 7th degrees, but the major quality triads and rising melodic motif create a glimmer of light, like reaching up towards the dappled sunlight breaking through the forest canopy. Learn more about the Aeolian mode (natural minor scale) here.
A harmonic slide to F Lydian, an unrelated mode, created an unexpected shift of light and perspective, while the expansive and bright augmented 4th of the Lydian mode created a sense of opening wonder. Learn more about the Lydian mode here.
Mode Table Showing Modes Used, Note Names, and Parent Scales
| Modes Used | Note Names | Parent Scale | Modal Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| F♯ Aeolian (Natural Minor) | F♯ – G♯ – A – B – C♯ – D – E | A Major | 6th mode of A Major |
| F Lydian | F – G – A – B – C – D – E | C Major | 4th Mode of C Major |
Aeolian Mode Formula:
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
Root, Major 2nd, Minor 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
How to Improvise on the Piano — A Basic Method
