In this video you can hear me play an improvised piece of music which I called Seeing Into the Dark. I had the image of being in total darkness, at first convinced you can’t see anything, but then as you keep looking, noticing that a shape is starting to emerge. The realisation that instead of looking at a black void, there is actually something there that you didn’t see before, and you are experiencing slowly forming clarity. A subtle illumination within the darkness. There is peril and uncertainty in this slowly emerging shape, but also a sense of dawning, movement, and inevitability; as well as the hint of optimism provided by the glimmers of light within the dark.
I started in G Aeolian, which although not the darkest of the modes, can have significant darkness due to its minor quality tonic triad, and flattened 6th and 7th degrees. After a slow opening, my choice of fast low register bass patterns in the left hand augmented the darkness that was already present in the Aeolian mode, and also added a feeling of urgency and inevitability for me — like the idea that the emerging shape in the dark needs to be seen, no matter how scary.
Whilst still in G Aeolian, I tended to frequently linger on chord VI in the left hand, combined with G Aeolian modal triads in the right hand, creating an almost Lydian feel (hinting at E♭ Lydian). Although the Lydian mode is the brightest of the modes of the major scale, this didn’t feel like total illumination, but instead felt like a glimmer of realisation and potential clarity.
The modulation to A Dorian sharp 4 was dark due to movement from the B flat (3rd degree) of the G Aeolian to the A (tonic) of the A Dorian sharp 4 creating a very transient hint of an A Phrygian effect (A to B♭ is that distinctive Phrygian sound in A Phrygian). The lifted major 6th degree, and piercing sharpened 4th degree of the A Dorian sharp 4 mode provided further glimmers of unsettling light, within the prevailing darkness of the mode.
I returned to G Aeolian, and closed with a variation of the slow opening theme. Like acceptance.
Mode Table, Note Names and Parent Scales
| Mode | Notes | Parent Scale | Modal Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| G Aeolian | G, A, B♭, C, D, E♭, F | B♭ Major | 6th Mode of Major |
| A Dorian ♯4 | A, B, C, D♯, E, F♯, G | E Harmonic Minor | 4th Mode of Harmonic Minor |
Interval Formulas
G Aeolian:
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
A Dorian ♯4:
1 – 2 – ♭3 – ♯4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7
Further Reading and Listening
Complete Guide to Modes of the Major, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor Scales
A Map Traced in the Heart — Improvisation in C Mixolydian & F Dorian ♯4
