In this video you can hear me playing a piece of music I improvised and called Oneiric Realm. The word “oneiric” is from the Greek “oneiros” which means “dream”; and “oneiric” describes atmospheres and experiences that have the surreal, symbolic, suspended, magical, and fairy-tale-like qualities of dreams. It is a realm where the rigid rules of cold logic dissolve, and the true resonance of emotions and intuition become the reality. Sometimes fairy tales can be dark, and sometimes dreams turn into nightmares. These juxtapositions within a phantasmagoria of light and dark, peace and disquiet, and mystery and insight, were conveyed by the combinations of modes and textures in this piece.
I started this piece in the dreamy and floaty yet unsettling F Lydian Augmented mode. The augmented quality tonic triad gave it a sense of expansiveness and brightness at the same time as unease. My use of the diminished triad on the subdominant increased the tension, resulting in something more ominous sounding, like the dream threatening to turn into a nightmare.
I then modulated to F sharp Aeolian which had more sorrow in its natural minor sound.
Then the contrast of a modulation to the more joyful and nostalgic D major (Ionian mode) reflected the changing colours of a dream that shifts from one true emotion to another.
After travelling back through F sharp Aeolian, the piece closed in the suspended-sounding F Lydian Augmented; and its refusal to resolve the way standard major and minor harmony does was like the suspended reality and altered causality of a dream.
Modal Table
| Mode | Notes of the Mode | Parent Scale | Modal Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| F Lydian Augmented | F — G — A — B — C♯ — D — E | D melodic minor | 3rd mode of D melodic minor |
| F♯ Aeolian (Natural Minor) | F♯ — G♯ — A — B — C♯ — D — E | A major | 6th mode of A major |
| D Major (Ionian) | D — E — F♯ — G — A — B — C♯ | D major | 1st mode of D major |
Interval Formulas
- Lydian Augmented Mode: 1 — 2 — 3 — ♯4 — ♯5 — 6 — 7
- (Root, Major 2nd, Major 3rd, Augmented 4th, Augmented 5th, Major 6th, Major 7th)
- Aeolian Mode: 1 — 2 — 1 ♭3 — 4 — 5 — ♭6 — ♭7
- (Root, Major 2nd, Minor 3rd, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th, Minor 6th, Minor 7th)
- Major (Ionian Mode): 1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — 7
- (Root, Major 2nd, Major 3rd, Perfect 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
