In this video (which you can find below) you can hear me play a piece of music I improvised and named Saturn Return. The Saturn Return is a celestial event where Saturn’s orbit brings it back to the position it occupied at your birth, and this happens roughly every 27-30 years.
It reflects the idea that at these points in a person’s life cycle, they are often undergoing major transformation, transition, structural challenges, and auditing of boundaries. The first Saturn Return which takes place in a person’s late 20s is often considered the most significant, but the later ones are considered vital periods of reckoning too.
This piece of music had a gentle introduction, and a calm coda, representing the pensiveness that can occur at these life junctures. But the main body of this piece of music consisted of high energy and turbulence, mirroring the violent, planet-encircling storms that occur on Saturn every 20–30 years.
This piece of music represents the idea that in certain circumstances, the Saturn Return of a person’s life may coincide with some of Saturn’s storms. For me personally, my own first Saturn Return coincided with one of these massive atmospheric events—the Dragon Storm of 2004–2005.
Modes and Scales Table
| Mode Name | Scale Degree | Parent Scale | Note Names | Modal Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E♭ Dorian | II | D♭ Major | E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B♭, C, D♭ | 2nd Mode of Major |
| B Mixolydian ♭6 | V | E Melodic Minor | B, C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G, A | 5th Mode of Melodic Minor |
| B Aeolian | VI | D Major | B, C♯, D, E, F♯, G, A | 6th Mode of Major |
| A♭ Mixolydian | V | D♭ Major | A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭ | 5th Mode of Major |
Interval Formulas (Structure List)
E♭ Dorian:
1 — 2 — ♭3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — ♭7
B Mixolydian ♭6:
1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — ♭6 — ♭7
B Aeolian:
1 — 2 — ♭3 — 4 — 5 — ♭6 — ♭7
A♭ Mixolydian:
1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — ♭7
Learn about the Dorian mode here, the Mixolydian flat 6 mode here, the Aeolian mode (or natural minor scale) here, and the Mixolydian mode here.
Learn more about modes in general here: Complete Guide to Modes of the Major, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor Scales
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