In this video you can hear me play an improvised piece of music which I named Maze of Infinity Mirrors. This choice of title reflects the twists and turns and rotations through various iterations of the E minor key, and the pivots into unexpected yet related harmonic worlds. A maze of infinity mirrors is symbolic of the often deceptive nature of apparent reality, not always knowing which turn takes you to the true reflection, navigating the thresholds between authenticity and distortion. 

I started in the disquieting, unstable, and dark, yet expansive G Ionian Augmented mode, with a very strong leaning towards the parent scale of E harmonic minor. 

Once I reached E minor, I rotated through several versions of it — E harmonic minor, E melodic minor, E Aeolian (aka natural minor) and E Dorian. 

Then I used a pivot chord to move from E minor to G minor, with an emphasis on the natural minor (G Aeolian). This pivot chord connecting two apparently unrelated keys was like a bridge or a hidden link — a newly revealed pathway into a different perspective that you didn’t see before because of all the distortion of the infinity mirrors. 

I passed through the unsettling G Ionian Augmented again, on my way back to E minor, which was where I closed the piece. 

Within the E minor sections I used a Neapolitan 6th several times — which is a major chord in first inversion built on the flattened supertonic within a minor key. It is a very Romantic era style compositional device, and created a darkening due to the Phrygian sounding flat 2 (hence the other name for a Neapolitan 6th — Phrygian II), along with a paradoxical brightening due to the use of the major quality chord. This ambiguity echoed the paradoxes of the maze of infinity mirrors.

Modes/Scales Used, Note Names and Parent Scales

Mode Name	Scale Degree	Parent Scale	Note Names	Modal Relationship
G Ionian Augmented	III	E Harmonic Minor	G, A, B, C, D♯, E, F♯	3rd Mode
E Harmonic Minor	I	E Harmonic Minor	E, F♯, G, A, B, C, D♯	Parent / Root
E Melodic Minor	I	E Melodic Minor	E, F♯, G, A, B, C♯, D♯	Ascending form
E Dorian	II	D Major	E, F♯, G, A, B, C♯, D	2nd Mode
E Aeolian (Natural Minor)	I	G Major	E, F♯, G, A, B, C, D	6th Mode
G Aeolian (Natural Minor)	I	B♭ Major	G, A, B♭, C, D, E♭, F	6th Mode

Interval Formulas (Structure List)

• G Ionian Augmented: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – ♯5 – 6 – 7
• E Harmonic Minor: 1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – 7
• E Melodic Minor: 1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7
• E Dorian: 1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7
• E Aeolian (Natural Minor): 1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
• G Aeolian: 1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
• Neapolitan 6th (in E minor): ♭II6 (F Major chord in first inversion)

Further Reading and Listening

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

Lucid Dream Between — Improvisation in F Lydian ♯2 & B♭ Mixolydian

Dream of a Secret Castle — Improvisation in D Mixolydian ♭6, D Mixolydian, C Lydian & C Dorian ♭2

Wildflowers in a Walled Garden — Improvisation in B Aeolian, D Ionian Augmented, C Lydian & Mixolydian ♭6, A Dorian ♭2

The Weight of the Looking Glass — Improvisation in C Minor, C Phrygian, G Dorian ♭2 & G Phrygian Dominant