Here is a video capturing another freeform improvisation of mine which I named Night Sky in the Ocean. The image of a night sky with all its stars reflected in the ocean was mirrored in my mind by the circular journey through the modes, and their descent into the darkness of the ocean’s abyss, and ascent into the unreachable light of the cosmos. When seeing the vast night sky with its multiple points of light reflected in the heavy fluid darkness of the ocean, the boundary between height and depth seems to dissolve, and the expanse of the stars and water seems to become infinite. The dark ocean holds the starlight.
I started and finished this improvisation in A flat Lydian sharp 2 — a mode that holds the mystery and paradox of the darkness of the abyss and the night sky, alongside the light of the stars.
The mournful weight of F Aeolian was brought about by its minor sound, but then the addition of a lifted major 6th turned it into a more hopeful F Dorian.
Dropping down into E flat Lydian sharp 2 reintroduced the paradoxical Lydian sharp 2 sound, but from a different depth — with its darkness and unease of the harmonic minor augmented 2nd structure, along with the light of the Lydian raised 4th.
Then D Lydian with its ethereal raised 4th and bright major 3rd introduced a reach towards the stars.
Mode Table
| Mode Used | Note Names | Parent Scale | Modal Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| A♭ Lydian ♯2 | A♭ – B♮ – C – D – E♭ – F – G | C Harmonic Minor | 6th Mode |
| F Aeolian (Natural Minor) | F – G – A♭ – B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭ | A♭ Major | 6th Mode |
| F Dorian | F – G – A♭ – B♭ – C – D – E♭ | E♭ Major | 2nd Mode |
| E♭ Lydian ♯2 | E♭ – F♯ – G – A♮ – B♭ – C – D | G Harmonic Minor | 6th Mode |
| D Lydian | D – E – F♯ – G♯ – A – B – C♯ | A Major | 4th Mode |
Interval Formulas
Lydian ♯2 Mode Formula
1 – ♯2 – 3 – ♯4 – 5 – 6 – 7
(Root, Augmented 2nd, Major 3rd, Augmented 4th, Perfect 5th, Major 6th, Major 7th)
Aeolian Mode Formula
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
(Root, Major 2nd, Minor 3rd, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th, Minor 6th, Minor 7th)
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)
Further Reading and Listening
Learn more about modes here: Complete Guide to Modes of the Major, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor Scales
