In this video you can hear me playing a piece of music I improvised on the piano and named Rechanted Mirror. Whilst improvising this piece of music, the modes brought to my mind a sense of expansion, mystery, and wonder, and light reflected from within darkness. Like a mirror reflecting a newly revealed facet of existence — the mirror was always physically real, but the new light reflecting from within it turns a seemingly inconsequential image into one layer among many. It’s not quite the illusion of an enchanted mirror, or the defeat of a disenchanted mirror, but instead seeing the magic of a changed perspective. What was once ordinary becomes an authentic wonder, the same song chanted with different words, a rechanted mirror.
I started and finished this improvisation in F Mixolydian flat 6. For me, the Mixolydian flat 6 mode has magic and mystery in its half-light combination of bright major 3rd with shadowy minor 6th and 7th, creating a reflective and expansive light within darkness.
A modulation to F Aeolian only changed a single note — the major 3rd degree became a minor 3rd, creating more mournful darkness by turning the major tonic triad into a minor one, re-chanting the harmonic space.
Mode Table
| Mode | Note Names | Parent Scale | Modal Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| F Mixolydian ♭6 | F – G – A – B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭ | B♭ Melodic Minor | 5th mode of B♭ Melodic Minor |
| F Aeolian (Natural Minor) | F – G – A♭ – B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭ | A♭ Major | 6th mode of A♭ Major |
Interval Formulas
Mixolydian ♭6 Mode Formula:
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
Aeolian Mode Formula:
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
Root, Major 2nd, Minor 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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